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tiuH£Ac/  af-Mj.u>ms//c>v^auJLOj\/r 


BUFFALO  LAI^TD 


Authentic  Account 


Discoveries,  Adve7ittcres,  and  Mishaps  of  a  Scientijic 
and  Sporting  Party 

IN  THE  WILD  WEST; 


GRAPHIC  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  COUNTRY;  THE  RED  MAN,  SAVAGE 
AND  CIVILIZED ;   HUNTING  THE  BUFFALO,  ANTELOPE, 
ELK,  AND  WILD  TURKEY;  ETC.,  ETC. 

REPLETE  WITH  INFORMATION,  WIT,  AND  HUMOR. 

%\t  gippcubiir  Comprising  a  CompUtt  ^uibt  for  ^portsmtn  anb  (Kmigranls. 

BY 
OF  TOPEKA,  KANSAS. 


^rofuscli?  Jllujsitratetr 

FROM  ACinJAL  PHOTOGRAPHS,  AND   ORIGINAL  DRAWINGS  BY  HENRY  WORRALL. 


CINCINNATI  AND  CHICAGO: 

E     HANNAFORD    &    COMPANY. 

SAN   FRANCISCO:   F.   DEWING   &    CO 

1872. 


Eutered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  by 

E.  HAITNAFORD  &  CO., 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  "Washington,  D.  C. 

BTEBEOTYPED  AT  THE  FBANKLIN  TYPE  FOUNDET,  CINCINNATI. 


S^obc^L^. 


^  ^.^^K^^ 


TO 


Q7te  Original  Westerner,  and  First  Buffalo  Hunter, 

Ci)iji  ^Moxt  is  IDetiicatei, 


With  Tkowoxtsd  Bkoasd, 

Sr  TSS  AUTHOR, 


^/^..^^^ 


.xp^yLj^ 


BUFFALO    LAND 


BY   OUR   TAMMANY"    SACHEM. 


THERE'S  a  wonderful  land  fur  out  in  the  West, 
Well  worthy  a  visit,  my  friend ; 
There,  Puritans  thought,  as  the  sun  went  to  rest, 

Creation  itself  had  an  end. 
'T  is  a  wild,  weird  spot  on  the  continent's  face, 

A  wound  which  is  ghastly  and  red, 
Where  the  savages  write  the  deeds  of  their  race 

In  blood  that  they  constantly  shed. 
The  graves  of  the  dead  the  fair  prairies  deface, 

And  stamp  it  the  kingdom  of  dread. 

The  emigrant  trail  is  a  skeleton  path; 

You  measure  its  miles  by  the  bones; 
There  savages  struck,  in  their  merciless  wrath, 

And  now,  after  sunset,  the  moans. 
When  tempests  are  out,  fill  the  shuddering  air, 

And  ghosts  flit  the  wagons  beside, 
And  point  to  the  skulls  lying  grinning  and  bare 

And  beg  of  the  teamsters  a  ride ; 
Sometimes  'tis  a  father  with  snow  on  his  hair. 

Again,  'tis  a  youth  and  his  bride. 

What  visions  of  horror  each  valley  could  tell, 

If  Providence  gave  it  a  tongue ! 
How  often  its  Eden  was  changed  to  a  hell, 

In  which  a  whole  train  had  been  flung; 

(Vli) 


VIU  BUFFALO    LAND. 

How  death  cry  and  battle-shout  frightened  the  birds, 
And  prayers  were  as  thick  as  the  leaves, 

And  no  one  to  catch  the  poor  dying  one's  words 
But  Death,  as  he  gathered  his  sheaves : 

You  see  the  bones  bleaching  among  the  wild  herds. 
In  shrouds  that  the  field  spider  weaves. 

That  era  is  passing — another  one  comes, 

The  era  of  steam  and  the  plow. 
With  clangor  of  commerce  and  factory  hums, 

Where  only  the  wigwam  is  now. 
Like  mist  of  the  morning  before  the  bright  sun. 

The  cloud  from  the  land  disappears ; 
The  Spirit  of  Murder  his  circle  has  run 

And  fled  from  the  march  of  the  years ; 
The  click  of  machine  drowns  the  click  of  the  guii, 

And  day  hides  the  night  time  of  tears. 


PEEFACE. 


The  purpose  of  this  work  is  to  make  the  reader 
better  acquainted  with  that  wil.d  land  which  he  has 
known  from  childhood,  as  the  home  of  the  Indian 
and  the  buffalo.  The  Rocky  Mountain  chain,  dis- 
torted and  rugged,  has  been  aptly  called  the  colossal 
vertebrae  of  our  continent's  broad  back,  and  from 
thence,  as  a  line,  the  plains,  weird  and  wonderful, 
stretch  eastward  through  Colorado,  and  embrace 
the  entire  western  half  of  Kansas. 

Fortune,  not  long  since,  threw  in  my  way  an  in- 
vitation, which  I  gladly  accepted,  to  join  a  semi- 
scientific  party,  since  somewhat  known  to  fame 
through  various  articles  in  the  newspaper  press,  in 
a  sojourn  of  several  months  on  the  great  plains. 
At  a  meeting  held  with  due  solemnity  on  the  eve 
of  starting,  the  Professor  (to  whom  the  reader  will 
be  introduced  in  the  proper  connection)  was  chosen 
leader  of  the  expedition,  while  to  my  lot  fell  the 


X  PREFACE. 

office  of  editor  of  the  future  record,  or  rather  Grand 
Scribe  of  what  we  were  pleased  to  call  our  "Log- 
Book  "  The  latter  now  lies  before  me,  in  all  its 
glory  of  shabby  covers  and  dirty  pages.  Its  soiled 
face  is  as  honorable  as  that  of  the  laborer  who 
comes  from  his  task  in  a  well  harvested  field.  Out 
of  the  sheaves  gathered  during  our  journey,  I  shall 
try  and  take  such  portions  as  may  best  supply  the 
mental  cravings  of  the  countless  thousands  who 
hunger  for  the  life  and  the  lore  of  the  far  West. 

I  have  given  the  mistakes  as  well  as  triumphs  of 
our  expedition,  and  the  members  of  the  party  will 
readily  recognize  their  familiar  camp  names.  The 
disguise  will  probably  be  pleasant,  as  few  like  to  see 
their  failures  on  public  parade,  preferring  rather  to 
leave  these  in  barracks,  and  let  their  successes  only 
appear  at  review. 

The  plains  have  a  face,  a  people,  and  a  brute 
creation,  peculiarly  their  own,  and  to  these  our 
party  devoted  earnest  study.  The  expedition  pre- 
sented a  rare  opportunity  of  becoming  acquaints 
with  the  game  of  the  country;  and,  in  writing  the 
present  volume,  my  aim  has  been  to  make  it  so  far 
a  text-book  for  amateur  hunters  that  they  may 
become  at  once  conversant  with  the  habits  of  the 
game,  and  the  best  manner  of  killing  it.  The  time 
is  not  far  distant,  when  the  plains  and  the  Rocky 


PREFACE.  XI 

Mountains  will  be  sought  by^thousands  annually,  as 
a  favorite  field  for  sport  and  recreation. 

Another  and  still  larger  class,  it  is  hoped,  will 
find  much  of  interest  and  value  in  the  following 
pages.  From  every  state  in  the  Union,  people  are 
constantly  passing  westward.  We  found  emigrant 
wagons  on  spots  from  which  the  Indians  had  just 
removed  their  wigwams.  Multitudes  more  are  now 
on  the  way,  with  the  earnest  purpose  of  founding 
homes  and,  if  possible,  of  finding  fortunes.  In 
order  to  aid  this  class,  as  well  as  the  sportsman,  I 
have  gathered  in  an  appendix  such  additional  infor- 
mation as  may  be  useful  to  both. 

The  scientific  details  of  our  trip  will  probably  be 
published  in  proper  form  and  time,  by  the  savans 
interested.  In  regard  to  these,  my  object  has  been 
simply  to  chronicle  such  matters  as  made  an  im- 
pression upon  my  own  mind,  being  content  with 
what  cream  might  be  gathered  by  an  amateur's 
skimming,  while  the  more  bulky  milk  should  be 
saved  in  capacious  scientific  buckets. 

■Profe^or  Cope,  the  well  known  naturalist,  of  the 
Academy  of  Sciences,  Philadelphia,  received  for  ex- 
amination and  classification  the  most  valuable 
fossils  we  obtained,  and  to  him  I  am  indebted  for 
a  large   amount  of   most  interesting  and  valuable 


Xll  PREFACE. 

scientific  matter,  whicii  will  be  found  embodied  in 
chapters  twenty-third  and  twenty-fourth. 

The  illustrations  of  men  and  brutes  in  this  work 
are  ^studies  from  life.  Whenever  it  was  possible, 
we  had  photographs  taken. 

The  plains,  it  must  be  said,  are  a  tract  with 
which  Romance  has  had  much  more  to  do  than 
History.  Red  men,  brave  and  chivalrous,  and  un- 
natural buffalo,  with  the  habits  of  lions,  exist  only 
in  imagination.  In  these  pages,  my  earnest  en- 
deavor, when  dealing  with  actualities,  has  been  to 
"hold  the  mirror  up  to  Nature,"  and  to  describe 
men,  manners,  and  things  as  they  are  in  real  life 
upon  the  frontiers,  and  beyond,  to-day. 

W.  E.  W. 

TopEKA,  Kansas,  May^  1872. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THB  OBJECT   OP  OUR   EXPEDITION A   GLIMPSE   OP   ALASKA   THROUGH   CAP- 
TAIN walrus'  glass WE  ARE  TEMPTED  BY  OUR   RECENT  PURCHASE — 

ALASKAN  GAME  OP  "  OLD  SLEDGE  " — THE  EARLY  STRUGGLES  OP  KAN- 
SAS— THE  SMOKY  HILL  TRAIL — INDIAN  HIGH  ART — THE  "bORDER- 
RUFFIAN,"  PAST  AND  PRESENT — TOPEKA — HOW  IT  RECEIVED  ITS 
NAME — WAUKARUSA  AND  ITS  LEGEND, 


2&-35 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  CHAPTER  OP  INTRODUCTIONS — PROFESSOR  PALEOZOIC — TAMMANY  SACHEM 

DOCTOR  PYTHAGORAS — GENUINE  MUGGS — COLON  AND  SEMI-COLON 

BHAMCS    DOBEEN TENACIOUS   GRIPE — BUGS    AND    PHILOSOPHY — HOW 

GRIPE  BECAME  A  REPUBLICAN, 36-54 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  TOPEKA  AUCTIONEER — MUGGS  GETS  A  BARGAIN — CYNOCEPHALUS — 
INDIAN  SUMMER  IN  KANSAS — HUNTING  PRAIRIE  CHICKENS — OUR  FIRST 
day's  SPORT, 


55-63 


CHAPTER   IV. 

CHICKEN-SHOOTING   CONTINUED A  SCIENTIFIC    PARTY  TAKE  THE  BIRDS   ON 

THE  WING — EVILS  OP  FAST  FIRING AN  OLD-FASHIONED  "SLOW  SHOT" 

— THE   HABITS   OF  THE    PRAIRIE    CHICKEN — ITS   PROSPECTIVE    EXTINC- 
TION— liODE  OF  HUNTING  IT — THE  GOPHER  SCALP  LAW, 

(Xiii) 


64-74 


Xiv  CONTENTS. 


CHAPrER  V. 


A     TRIAL     BY    JUDGE    LYNCH HUNG    FOR     CONTEMPT    OP     COURT — QUAIL 

SHOOTING — HABITS    OF    THE    BIRDS,  AND    MODE    OF    KILLING    THEM A 

RING   OF    QUAILS — THE    EFFECTS    OF    A    SEVERE    WINTER — THE    SNOW 

GOOSB, 75-83 


CHAPTER   VI. 

OFF  FOR  BUFFALO  LAND — THE   NAVIGATION  OF  THE   KAW — FORT    RILEY 

THE  CENTER-POST  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES — OUR  PURCHASE  OP  HORSES 
"LO"  as  a  SAVAGE  AND  AS  A  CITIZEN — GRIPE  UNFOLDS  THE  IN- 
DIAN QUESTION — A  BALLAD    BY  SACHEM,  PRESENTING  ANOTHER  VIEW,  84-98 


CHAPTER  VII. 

GklPK's  VIEWS  OP  INDIAN  CHARACTER — THE  DELA WARES,  THE  ISHMAELITES 
OP  THE  PLAINS — THE  TERRITORY  OF  THE  "LONG  HORNS  " — TEXANS 
AND  THEIR  CHARACTERISTICS — MUSHROOM  ROCK A  VALUABLE  DIS- 
COVERY—  FOOTPRINTS  IN  THE  ROCK  —  THE  PRIMEVAL  PAUL  AND 
VIRGINIA 99-111 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  "  GREAT  AMERICAN  DESERT  " ITS  FOSSIL  WEALTH AN  ILLUSION  DIS- 
PELLED— FIRES  ACCORDING  TO  NOVELS  AND  ACCORDING  TO  FACT — 
SENSATIONAL  HEROES  AND  HEROINES — PRAIRIE  DOGS  AND  THEIR  HAB- 
ITS— HAWK  AND  DOG,   AND  HAWK  AND  CAT, 112-123 

CHAPTER    IX. 

VB  SEB  BUFFALO ARRIVAL  AT  HAYS GENERAL  SHERIDAN  AT  THE  FORT 

INDIAN    MURDERS — BLOOD-CHRISTENING  OF  THE    PACIFIC    RAILROAD 

SURPRISED  BY  A  BUFFALO  HERD A   BUFFALO  BULL  IN  A  QUANDARY 

.GENTLE  ZEPHYRS — HOW  A  CIRCUS  WENT  OFF — BOLOGNA  TO  LEAN  ON 

A  CALL  UPON  SHERIDAN,  ,  . 124-141 


.    CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  X. 

rAGre>. 
KAYS   CITY    BY  LAMP-LIGHT — THB    SANTA    FE    TRADE — BULL-WHACKERS — 

MEXICANS — SABBATH  ON    THB   PLAINS — THB    DARK    AGES— WILD    BILL 

AND  BUFFALO  BILL — OFF  FOR  THB  SALINE — DOBEEn's  GHOST-STORY — 

AN  ADVENTURE  WITH  INDIANS — MEXICAN   CANNONADE — A  RUNAWAY,    142-160 


CHAPTER   XL 

WHITE  WOLF,  THE  CHEYENNE  CHIEF — HUNGRY  INDIANS — RETURN  TO  HAYS 
— A  CHEYENNE  WAR  PARTY — THE  PIPE  OF  PEACE — THE  COUNCIL 
CHAMBER — WHITE  WOLF's  SPEECH,  AS  RENDERED  BY  SACHEM — THB 
WHITE  man's  WIGWAM,  .  .  .    ~ 161-176 


CHAPTER   XII. 

arms   of    a  war   party — A    DONKEY    PRESENT — EATING    POWERS    OF    THB 

NOMADS — SATANTA,    HIS    CRIMES    AND    PUNISHMENT RUNNING    OFF 

WITH    A    GOVERNMENT   HERD — DAUB,  OUR   ARTIST ANTELOPE    CHA83 

BY  A  GREYHOUND, 177-19] 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

CHARACTER    OF    THB   PLAINS — BUFFALO   BILL    AND   HIS   HORSE    BRI6HAM 

THE  GUIDE  AND   SCOUT   OF  ROMANCE — CAYOTB    VERSUS   JACKASS-RAB- 
BIT— A  LAWYER-LIKE   RESCUE — OUR  CAMP  ON  SILVER  CREEK — UNCLE 

SAm's  buffalo  herds — TURKEY-SHOOTING OUR  FIRST   MEAL  ON  THB 

PLAINS — A  GAME  SUPPER, 192-208 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

A  CAMP-FIRE  SCENE — VAGABONDIZING THE  BLACK    PACER  OP  THB    PLAINS 

SOME  ADVICE  FROM  BUFFALO   BILL    ABOUT   INDIAN    FIGHTING — LO'S 

ABHORRENCE   OF    LONG   RANGE HIS    DREAD    OF    CANNON — AN    IRISH 

GOBLIN, 209-219 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Pi>.OE>«. 
A  FIRB  BCKNK — A  GLIMPSE  OP  THE  SOUTH — 'cOON  HUNTING  IN  MISSIS- 
SIPPI— VOICES  IN  THE  SOLITUDE — FRIENDS  OR  FOES — A  STARTLING 
SERENADE — PANIC  IN  CAMP — CATOTES  AND  THEIR  HABITS — WORRY- 
ING A  BUFFALO  BULL — THE  SECOND  DAY — DAUB,  OUR  ARTIST — HM 
MAKES   HIS    MARE, 220-235 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

BISON     MEAT — A    STRANGE    ARRIVAL — THE    SYDNEY    FAMILY — THE    HOME 

IN    THE    VALLEY — THE    SOLOMON    MASSACRE— THE    MURDER    OF    THE 

^       FATHER   AND   THE   CHILD — THE    SETTLERS*    PLIGHT — INCIDENTS — OUR 

QUEEN  OF  THE  PLAINS — THE    PROFESSOR    INTERESTED — IRISH  MARY — 

DOBEBN     HAPPY THE    HEROINE    OP    ROMANCE — SACHEM's     BATH     BY 

MOONLIGHT — THE    BEAVER   COLONY, 236-249 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  CHASE — THE  VALLEY  OP  THE  SALINE — QUEER 
'COONS — A  bison's  GAME  OF  BLUFF — IN  PURSUIT — ALONGSIDE  THM 
GAME — FIRING  FROM  THE  SADDLE — A  CHARGE  AND  A  PANIC — FALSE 
HISTORY  AGAIN — GOING  FOR  AMMUNITION — THE  PROFESSOR'S  LET- 
TER— DISROBING   THE   VICTIM, 250-263 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

STILL    HUNTING DARK    OBJECTS    AGAINST    THE    HORIZON — THE    RED    MAN 

AGAIN — RETREAT  TO   CAMP — PREPARATIONS   FOR   DEFENSE — SHAKING  ^ 

HANDS  WITH  DEATH — MR.  COLON'S  BUGS — THE  EMBASSADORS — A  NEW 
ALARM — MORE    INDIANS — TERRIFIC   BATTLE    BETWEEN    PAWNEES   AND 

CHEYENNES THEIR     MODE    OP     FIGHTING — GOOD     HORSEMANSHIP — A 

SCIENTIFIC   PARTY  AS  SEXTONS — DITTO  AS  SURGEONS — CAMPS  OP  THll 
COMBATANTS — STEALING   AWAY — AN    APPARITION,      .  .  .  .264-279 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

STALKING  THE  BISON — BUFFALO  AS  OXEN — EXPENSIVE  POWER — A  BUF- 
FALO AT  A  LUNATIC  ASYLUM — THE  GATEWAY  TO  THE  HERDS — INFER- 


CONTENTS.  XVil 

PAQEd. 
NAL    GEAPB-SHOT — NATUBB's    BOMB-SHBLLS — CRAWLING    BEDOUINS — 

"THAE    they    hump" — THE    SLAUGHTER    BEGUN — AN    INEFFECTUAL 

CHARGE — "KETCHING    THE     CRITTER  " — RETURN    TO    CAMP— GALVES' 

HEAD   ON  THE   STOMACH — AN   UNPLEASANT   EPISODE WOLF  BAITING, 

AND   HOW  IT   IS   DONE, 280-29i 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THK   CAYOTES'    STRYCHNINE   FEAST — CAPTURING  A   TIMBER  WOLF — A   FEW 
CORDS    OF    VICTIMS — WHAT    THE    LAW    CONSIDERS    "INDIAN    TAN" — 

"finishing"     THE    NEW    YORK    MARKET A    NEW    YORK     FARMER'S 

OPINION  OF  OUR  GRAY  WOLF — WESTWARD  AGAIN — EPISODES  IN  OUR 
JOURNEY — THE  WILD  HUNTRESS  OF  THE  PLAINS — WAS  OUR  GUIDE  A 
MURDERER? — THE  EBADEE  JOINS  US  IN  A  BUFFALO  CHASE — THE 
DYING  AGONIES, 292-305 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

"CEBASING"  wild  HORSES — MUGGS  DISAPPOINTED A  FEAT  FOR  FIC- 
TION— HORSE  AND  MONKEY — HOOF  WISDOM  FOR  TURFMEN — PROS- 
PECTIVE CLIMATIC  CHANGES  ON  THE  PLAINS — THE  QUESTION  OF 
SPONTANEOUS  GENERATION — WANTON  SLAUGHTER  OF  BUFFALO — 
AMOUNT  OF  ROBES  AND  MEAT  ANNUALLY  WASTED — A  STRANGR 
HABIT  OF  THE  BISON — NUMEROUS  BILLS — THE  "SNBAK  THIEF "  OP 
THE   PLAINS, 306-317 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

A  LIVE   TOWN    AND    ITS   GRAVE-YARD — HONEST    ROMBEAUX    IN    TROUBLE 

JUDGE  LYNCH  HOLDS  COURT — MARIE  AND  THE  VINE-COVERED  COT- 
TAGE— THE  TERRIBLE  FLOODS — DEATH  IN  CAMP  AND  IN  THE  DUG- 
OUT— WAS  IT  THE  WATER  WHICH  DID  IT? — DISCOVERY  OF  A  HUGE 
FOSSIL — THE  MOSASAURUS  OF  THE  CRETACEOUS  SEA — A  GLIMPSE 
OF  THE  REPTILIAN  AGE — REMINISCENCES  OP  ALLIGATOR-SHOOTING — 
THEY   SUGGEST   A    THEORY, 318-329 


XVlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXTII. 

PAGER. 
FROM   SHERIDAN   TO  THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS — THE   COLORADO    PORTION  OP 

THE  PLAINS THE  GIANT  PINES — ATTEMPT  TO  PHOTOGRAPH  A  BUF- 
FALO— THINGS  GET  MIXED — THE  LEVIATHAN  AT  HOME — A  CHAT 
WITH  PROFESSOR  COPE — TWENTY-SIX-INCH  OYSTERS — REPTILES  AND 
FISHES   OF    THE   CRETACEOUS    SEA, 330-350 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

CONTINUED  BY  COPE — THE  GIANTS  OF  THE  SEAS — TAKING  OUT  FOSSILS 
IN  A  GALE — INTERESTING  DISCOVERIES — THE  GEOLOGY  OP  THE 
PLAINS, 351-365 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

A   SAVAGE    OUTBREAK — THE    BATTLE    OF    THE    FORTY    SCOUTS — THE    SUR- 
PRISE— PACK-MULES    STAMPEDED — DEATH    ON    THE    ARICKEREB — THE 

MEDICINE  MAN — A  DISMAL  NIGHT — MESSENGERS    SENT  TO  WALLACE 

MORNING    ATTACK WHOSE    FUNERAL  ? — RELIEF    AT    LAST — THE    OLD 

scout's   DEVOTION   TO   THE   BLUE, 366-376 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THl    STAGE    DRIVERS   OP    THE    PLAINS — "OLD    BOB" — JAMAICA    AND    GIN- 
GER— AN    OLD    ACQUAINTANCE BEADS    OF    THE    PAST — ROBBING    THfl 

DEAD — A    LEAF    PROM   THE    LOST    HISTORY    OP    THE    MOUND    BUILDERS 

— INDIAN  Traditions — speculations — adobe  houses  in  a  rain — 

CHEAP   living WATCH    TOWERS, 377-386 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

OUR  PROGRAMME  CONCLUDED— FROM   SHERIDAN  TO  THE   SOLOMON — FIERCK 

WINDS A      TERRIFIC      STORM SHAMUS'      BLOODY      APPARITION      AND 

INDIAN    WITCH — A   RECONNOISSANCE — AN    INDIAN    BURIAL    GROVE — A 
contractor's    daring   and    its   penalty — MORE    VAGABONDIZING 


CONTENTS.  XIX 


PAGE8. 
JOSE    AT   THE   LONG  BOW — THE    "wlLD   HUNTRESS'"   CODNTERPART — 

8HAMDS    TREATS    US   TO    "CHILE " — THE   RESULT,        ....    387-395 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  BLOCK-HOUSE  ON  THE  SOLOMON — HOW  THE  OLD  MAN  DIED — WACONDA 

DA LEGEND    OP    WA-BOG-AHA  AND    HEWGAW SABBATH    MORNING 

sachem's  POETICAL  EPITAPH — AN  ALARM — BATTLE  BETWEEN  AN 
EMIGRANT  AND  THE  INDIANS — WAS  IT  THE  SYDNBYS  ? — TO  THE 
RESCUE — AN  ELK  HUNT — ROCKY  MOUNTAIN  SHEEP — NOVEL  MODE 
OP  HUNTING  TURKEYS — IN  CAMP  ON  THE  SOLOMON — A  WARM  WEL- 
COME,       396-415 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

OUR  LAST  NIGHT  TOGETHER — THE  REMARKABLE  SHED-TAIL  DOG — HE 
RESCUES  HIS  MISTRESS,  AND  BREAKS  UP  A  MEETING — A  SKETCH  OP 
TERRITORIAL  TIMES  BY  GRIPE — MONTGOMERY'S  EXPEDITION  FOR  THE 
RESCUE   OP  JOHN  BROWN's    COMPANIONS — SCALPED,  AND  CARVING  HIS 

OWN    EPITAPH — AN    IRISH    JACOB — "SURVIVAL    OP    THE    FITTEST" 

sachem's   poetical  letter — POPPING   THE  QUESTION   ON  THE   RUN — 

THE    professor's    LETTER,         ,  ,  416-428- 


CONTENTS  OF  APPENDIX. 


PA0F.8. 
PEKLIMINARY    TO   THE   APPENDIX,    ..,..,.   431,  432 


CHAPTER  FIRST. 

COME  TO  THE  GREAT  WEST — SHOULD  THERE  NOT  BE  COMPULSORY  EMI- 
GRATION— "GET  A  GOOD  READY" — HOMESTEAD  LAWS  AND  REGULA- 
TIONS— THE  STATE  OP  KANSAS — THE  COST  OF  A  FARM — A  FEW  MORE 
PRACTICAL    SUGGESTIONS, 433-450 


CHAPTER  SECOND. 

HUNTING  THE  BUFFALO — ANTELOPE  HUNTING — ELK  HUNTING — TURKEY 
HUNTING — GENERAL  REMARKS — WHAT  TO  DO  IP  LOST  ON  THE  PLAINS 
— THE   NEW    FIELD    FOR   SPORTSMEN, 451-463 


CHAPTER  THIRD. 

"by    THE    MOUTH   OP    TWO    OR   THREE    WITNESSES" — THE    GRB.<.T   WEST 

PALL  OP  THE  RIVERS — THE  PRINCIPAL  RIVERS  AXr»  VALLEYS  OP 
BUFFALO  LAND — THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  PLATTE — THE  SOLOMON  AND 
SMOKY  HILL  RIVERS — THE  ARKANSAS  RIVER  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES 
— STOCK  RAISING  IN  THE  GREAT  WEST — THE  CATTLE  HIVE  OP  NORTH 
AMERICA — THE  CLIMATE  OF  THE  PLAINS— CLIMATIC  CHANGES  ON  THE 
PLAINS — THE  TREES  AND  FUTURE  FORESTS  OP  THE  PLAINS — THE 
SUPPLY  OF  FUEL — DISTRICTS  CONTIGUOUS  TO  THE  PLAINS — THE  VAL- 
LEYS OP  THE  WHITE  EARTH  AND  NIOBRARA — NEW  MEXICO:  ITS 
SOIL,  CLIMATE,  RESOURCES,  ETC. — THE  DISAPPEARING  BISON — THE 
PISH     WITH     LEGS — THE     MOUNTAIN     SUPPLY    OP     LUMBER    FOR    THE 

PLAINS, 465-503 

(XX) 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FVon»  Original  Drawings  hy  Benry  Worrall,  and  Actual  JPhotographs, 
The  Engraving  hy  the  Bureau  of  Illustration,  Buffalo,  N,  T. 


PASS 


Frontispiece,  Facing  Title  Page 

Alaskan  Lovers — Sealing  the  Contract, 27 

Alaskan  Game  op  Old  Sledge, 27 

"Waukarusa," 33 

"  Toasts  his  Moccasined  Feet  by  the  Fire," 33 

The  Professor — A  Remarkable  Stone, 39 

Tammany  Sachem — Prospective  and  Retrospective,       ....      39 

Colon  and  Semi-colon, ,        ...      43 

David  Pythagoras,  M.  D.,        .........      43 

One  of  the  Muggses, 47 

Shamus  Dobeen— His  Card, 53 

Hon.  T.  Gripe  (Beatified), 53 

"Spbrit,  Gentlemen!" ,..57 

Our  First  Bird-Shooting,        .••••....      67 

Judge  Lynch — His  Court, .77 

Unnaturalized, 91 

Naturalized, ,.,,..      91 


xxii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAOB 


"Yod'vk  Riled  THAT  Brook" — An  Old  Fable  Modernized,    ...  96 

Dog  Town — The  Happy  Family, 96 

Indian  Rock — From  a  Photograph, 105 

Mushroom  Rock — From  a  Photograph, 105 

Fire  ON  THE  Plains,  ACCORDING  TO  NoTELS,        .        ,        .        •  ,115 

Fire  on  the  Plains,  as  it  is, 115 

"And  Erin's  Son  Christens  those  Far-off  Points  of  the  Pacific  Rail- 
road WITH  HIS  Blood," 127 

Gentle  Zephyrs — Going  off  without  a  Drawback,        ....  133 

"Looked  like  THE  End  OF  A  Tail," 137 

The  Rare  Old  Plainsman  of  the  Novels, 137 

Wild  Bill — From  a  Photograph, 147 

Buffalo  Bill — From  a  Photograph,        . 147 

Our  Horses  Run  Away  with  Us, 157 

The  Pipe  of  Peace — The  Professor's  Dilemma, 167 

\Yhite  Wolf  at  Home, 172 

The  Wild  Denizens  of  the  Plains,  .        .         .        .        .        .         .197 

Smashing  a  Cheyenne  Black-Kettle, 219 

Midnight  Serenade  on  the  Plains, 227 

Going  after  Ammunition, 259 

Battle  between  Cheyennes  and  Pawnees, 271 

One  of  our  Specimens — Photographed  by  J.  Leb  Knight,  Topbka,          .  301 

Wanton  Destruction  of  Buffalo,  Embracing: 

Daily,  FOR  Fun, 315 

300  A  Day  for  Pleasure,       . 315 

For  Excitement, 315 

100,000  FOR  Tongues,     .        .        . 315 

2,000,000  FOR  Robes,  to  get  Whisky, 315 

Dug  Out, 329 

Taking  and  Being  Taken, 335 

Developing — One  of  the  First  Families, 348 

The  Sea  which  once  Covered  the  Plains, 357 

Waoonda  Da — Great  Spirit  Salt  Spring, 398 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIOXS.  xxiii 


PAGB 


More  of  our  Specimens  (Photographed  by  J.  Lee  Knight),  Embracing: 

Prairie  Chickens, 413 

Head  op  an  Elk, 413 

Wild  Tubkey, 413 

Bkavkb, 413 


BUFFALO    LAND. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  OBJECT  OP  OUR  EXPEDITION — A  GLIMPSE  OF  ALASKA  THROUGH  CAPTAIN  WALRUS* 
GLASS — "WE  ARE  TEMPTED  BY  OUR  RECENT  PURCHASE — ALASKAN  GAME  OP  "OLD 
sledge" — THE  EARLY  STRUGGLES  OP  KANSAS — THE  SMOKY  HILL  TRAIL — INDIAN 
HIGH  ART — THE  "BORDER-RUFFIAN,"  PAST  AND  PRESENT — TOPEKA — HOW  IT  RE- 
CEIVED ITS  NAME — WAUKARUSA  AND  ITS  LEGEND. 

THE  great  plains — the  region  of  country  in  which 
our  expedition  sojourned  for  so  many  months — is 
wilder,  and  by  far  more  interesting,  than  those  soli- 
tudes over  which  the  Egyptian  Sphynx  looks  out. 
The  latter  are  barren  and  desolate,  while  the  former 
teem  with  their  savas'e  races  and  scarcely  more  sava^'o 
beasts.  The  very  soil  which  these  tread  is  written  all 
over  with  a  history  of  the  past,  even  its  surface  giving 
to  science  wonderful  and  countless  fossils  of  those  ages 
when  the  world  was  young  and  man  not  yet  born. 

At  first,  it  was  rather  unsettled  which  way  the 
steps  of  our  party  would  turn ;  between  unexplored 
territory  and  that  newly  acquired,  there  were  several 
fields  open  which  promised  much  of  interest.  Orig- 
inally, our  company  numbered  a  dozen ;  but  Alaska 
tempted  a  portion  of  our  savans,  and  to  the  fishy  and 
frigid  maiden  they  yielded,  drawn  by  a  strange  predi- 
lection for  train-oil  and  seal  meat  toward  the  land  of 

(25) 


26  BUFFALO    LAND. 

furs.  For  the  remainder  of  our  party,  however,  life 
under  the  Ahiskan's  tent-pole  had  no  charms.  Our 
decision  may  have  been  influenced  somewhat  by  the 
seafaring  man  with  whom  our  friends  were  to  sail. 
The  real  name  of  this  son  of  Neptune  was  Samuels, 
but  our  party  called  him,  as  it  savored  more  of  salt 
water,  Captain  Walrus,  of  the  bark  Harpoon.  This 
worthy,  according  to  his  own  statement,  had  been 
born  on  a  whaler,  weaned  among  the  Esquimeaux, 
and,  moreover,  had  frozen  off  eight  toes  "trying  to 
winter  it  at  our  recent  purchase.'*  He  evidently  dis- 
liked to  have  scientific  men  aboard,  intent  on  studying 
eclipses  and  seals.  "A  heathenish  and  strange  people 
are  the  Alaskans,"  Walrus  was  wont  to  say.  "  What 
is  not  Indian  is  Russian,  and  a  compound  of  the  latter 
and  aboriginal  is  a  mixture  most  villainous.  One  por- 
tion of 'the  partnership  anatomy  takes  to  brandy,  while 
the  other  absorbs  train-oil,  and  so  a  half-breed  Alaskan 
heathen  is  always  prepared  for  spontaneous  combus- 
tion, and  if  rubbed  the  wrong  way,  flames  up  instantly. 
He  is  always  hot  for  murder,  and  if  you  throw  cold 
water  on  his  designs,  his  oily  nature  sheds  it." 

And  many  a  yarn  did  the  captain  spin  concerning 
their  strange  customs.  Sealing  a  marriage  contract 
consisted  in  the  warrior  leaving  a  fat  seal  at  the  hole 
of  the  hut,  where  his  intended  crawled  in  to  her 
home  privileges  of  smoke  and  fish.  Their  favorite 
game  was  "old  sledge,"  played  with  prisoners  to 
shorten  their  captivity. 

All  this,  and  much  more,  probably  equally  true,  we 
had  picked  up  of  Alaskan  history,  and  at  one  time 
our  chests  had  been  packed  for  a  voyage  on  the  Har- 
poon;  but  at  the  final  council  the  west  carried  it 


"bleeding   KANSAS."  29 

against  the  north,  and  our  steps  were  directed  toward 
the  setting  sun,  instead  of  the  polar  star. 

The  expedition  afforded  unexcelled  facilities  for 
seeing  Buffalo  Land.  It  was  composed  of  good  ma- 
terial, and  pursued  its  chosen  path  successfully, 
though  under  difficulties  which  would  have  turned 
back  a  less  determined  party. 

JN'one  of  our  company,  I  trust,  will  consider  it  an 
unwarrantable  license  which  recounts  to  others  the 
personal  peculiarities  and  mistakes  about  which  we 
joked  so  freely  while  in  camp.  It  was  generally  un- 
derstood, before  we  parted,  that  the  adventures  should 
be  common  stock  for  our  children  and  children's 
children.  Why  should  not  the  great  public  share  in 
it  also  ? 

Let  the  reader  place  before  him  a  checker-board, 
and  allow  it  to  represent  Kansas,  whose  shape  and 
outline  it  much  resembles ;  the  half  nearest  him  will 
stand  for  the  eastern  or  settled  portion  of  the  State, 
of  which  the  other  half  is  embraced  in  Buffalo  Land 
proper.  It  is  with  the  latter  that  we  have  first  to  do, 
as  with  it  we  first  became  acquainted. 

Our  party  entered  the  State  at  Kansas  City,  and 
took  the  cars  for  Topeka,  its  capital.  During  our 
morning  ride  through  the  valley  of  the  Kaw,  memory 
went  backward  to  the  years  when  "Bleeding  Kan- 
sas "  was  the  signal-cry  of  emancipation.  When  gray 
old  Time,  a  decade  and  a  half  ago,  was  writing  the  his- 
tory of  those  bright  children  of  Freedom,  the  united 
sisterhood,  a  virgin  arm  reached  over  his  shoulder, 
and  a  fair  young  hand,  stained  with  its  own  life- 


30  BUFFALO   LAND. 

blood,  wrote  on  the  page  toward  which  all  the  world 
was  gazing,  "  I  am  Kansas,  latest-born  of  America. 
I  would  be  free,  yet  they  would  make  me  a  slave. 
Save  me,  my  sisters !  "  The  great  heart  of  our  nation 
was  sorely  distressed.  Conscience  pointed  to  one 
path — Policy,  that  rank  hypocrite,  to  another. 

And  so  it  was  that  the  young  queen,  with  her 
grand  domain  in  the  West,  struggled  forward  to  lay 
her  fealty  at  the  feet  of  our  great  mother.  Liberty. 
She  made  a  body-guard  of  her  own  sons,  and  their 
number  was  quickly  swelled  by  brave  hearts  from  the 
north,  east,  and  west.  The  new  territory,  begging 
admission  as  a  State,  became  a  battle-ground. 
Slavery  had  reached  forth  its  hand  to  grasp  the  new 
State  and  fresh  soil,  but  the  mutilated  member  was 
drawn  back  with  wounds  which  soon  reached,  cor- 
rupted and  destroyed  the  body.  In  this  land  of  the 
Far  West  a  nation  of  young  giants  had  been  suddenly 
developed,  and  Kansas  was  forever  won  for  freedom. 

But  there  was  yet  another  enemy  and  another  dan- 
ger. Westward,  toward  Colorado,  the  savage's  toma- 
hawk and  knife  glittered,  and  struck  among  the 
affrighted  settlements.  Ad  Astra  per  Aspera,  "  to  the 
stars  through  difficulties,"  the  State  exclaims  on  the 
seal,  and  to  the  stars,  through  blood,  its  course  has 
been. 

Those  old  jDages  of  history  are  too  bloody  to  be 
brought  to  light  in  the  bright  present,  and  we  j)urpose 
turning  them  only  enough  to  gather  what  will  be 
now  of  practical  use.  Kansas  suffered  cruelly,  and 
brooded  over  her  wrongs,  but  she  has  long  since  struck 
hands  with  her  bitterer  foe.     Most  of  the  "  Border 


THE   SMOKY   HILL    TKAIL.  31 

Ruffians"  ripened  on  gallows  trees,  or  fell  by  the 
sword,  years  ago.  A  few,  however,  are  yet  spared, 
to  cheer  their  old  age  by  riding  around  in  desolate 
woods  at  midnight,  wrapped  in  damp  nightgowns, 
and  masked  in  grinning  death-heads.  Although  the 
mists  of  shadow-land  are  chilling  their  hearts,  yet 
those  organs,  at  the  cry  of  blood,  beat  quick  again, 
like  regimental  drums,  for  action. 

The  Kaw  or  the  Kansas  River,  the  valley  of  which 
we  were  traversing,  is  the  principal  stream  of  the 
State — in  length  to  the  mouth  of  the  Republican  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  above  that,  under  the 
name  of  Smoky  Hill,  three  hundred  miles  more. 

The  "Smoky  Hill  trail"  is  a  familiar  name  in 
many  an  American  home.  It  was  the  great  Califor- 
nia path,  and  many  a  time  the  demons  of  the  plain 
gloated  over  fair  hair,  yet  fresh  from  a  mother's  touch 
and  blessing.  And  many  a  faint  and  thirsty  trav- 
eler has  flung  himself  with  a  burst  of  gratitude  on 
the  sandy  bed  of  the  desolate  river,  and  thanked  the 
Great  Giver  of  all  good  for  the  concealed  life  found 
under  the  sand,  and  with  the  strength  thus  sucked 
from  the  bosom  of  our  much-abused  mother,  he  has 
pushed  onward  until  at  length  the  grand  mountains 
and  great  parks  of  Colorado  burst  upon  his  delighted 
vision. 

About  noon  w^e  arrived  at  Topeka,  the  capital, 
well  situated  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  having 
a  comfortable,  well-to-do  air,  which  suggests  the  quiet 
satisfaction  of  an  honest  burgher  after  a  morning  of 
toil.  The  slavery  billow  of  agitation  rolled  even  thus 
far  from  beyond  the  border  of  the  state.    Armed  men 


32  BUFFALO   LAND. 

rode  over  the  beautiful  prairies,  some  east,  some 
west — one  band  to  transplant  slavery  from  the  tainted 
soil  of  Missouri,  another  to  pluck  it  up. 

A  small  party  of  Free  State  men  settled  upon  this 
beautiful  prairie.  South  flowed  the  Waukarusa, 
south  and  east  the  Shunganunga,  and  west  and  north 
the  Kaw  or  Kansas.  Here  thrived  a  bulbous  root, 
much  loved  by  the  red  man,  and  here  lazy  Potta- 
watomies  gathered  in  the  fall  to  dig  it.  In  size  and 
somewhat  in  shape,  it  resembled  a  goose  egg,  and  had 
a  hard,  reddish  brown  shell,  and  an  interior  like 
damaged  dough.  The  Indian  gourmands  ate  it 
greedily  and  called  it  "Topeka."  From  the  two  or 
three  families  of  refugee  Free  State  men  the  town 
grew  up,  and  from  the  Indian  root  it  took  its 
name.  Its  christening  took  place  in  the  first  cabin 
erected,  and  it  is  reported  that  a  now  prominent 
banker  of  the  town  stood  sponsor,  with  his  back 
against  the  door,  refusing  any  egress  until  the  name 
of  his  choice  was  accepted.  It  is  even  affirmed  that 
one  opposing  city  founder  was  pulled  back  by  his 
coat-tail  from  an  attempted  escape  up  the  wide 
chimney. 

The  old  Indian  love  of  commemorating  events  by 
significant  names  is  well  illustrated  in  Kansas.  One 
example  may  be  given  here.  Waukarusa  once  op- 
posed its  swollen  tide  to  an  exploring  band  of  red 
men.  'Now,  from  time  beyond  ken,  the  noble  savage 
has  been  illustrious  for  the  ingenuity  with  which  he 
lays  all  disagreeable  duties  upon  the  shoulders  of  the 
patient  squaw.  He  may  ride  to  their  death,  in  free 
wild  sport,  the  bison  multitudes;   but  their  skins 


WAUKARUSA. 


TOASTS    HIS    MOCCASINED    FEET   BY   THE    FIRE." 


*>  WAUKARUSA."  35 

must  be  converted  into  marketable  robes,  and  the 
flesh  into  jerked  meat,  by  the  ugly  and  over-worked 
partner  of  his  bosom.  While  she  pins  the  raw  hide 
to  earth,  and  bends  patiently  over,  fleshing  it  with 
horn  hatchet  for  weary  hours,  the  stronger  vessel,  his 
abdominal  recesses  wadded  with  bufl^alo  meat,  toasts 
his  moccasined  feet  by  the  fire,  fills  his  lungs  with 
smoke  from  villainous  killikinick,  and  muses  sooth- 
ingly of  white  scalps  and  happy  hunting  grounds. 

Ox-like  maiden,  happy  "  big  injun !  "  you  both  be- 
long to  an  age  and  a  history  well  nigh  past,  and  let  us 
rejoice  that  it  is  so. 

But  to  return  to  the  band  long  since  gathered  into 
aboriginal  dust  whom  we  left  pausing  on  the  banks 
of  the  Waukarusa.  "  Deep  water,  bad  bottom ! " 
grunted  the  braves,  and,  nothing  doubting  it,  one  lov- 
ing warrior  pushed  his  wife  and  her  pony  over  the 
bank  to  test  the  matter.  From  the  middle  of  the 
tide  the  squaw  called  back,  "Waukarusa"  (thigh 
deep),  and  soon  had  gained  the  opposite  bank  in 
safety.  Then  and  there  the  creek  received  its  name, 
"  Waukarusa." 

We  procured  a  remarkable  sketch,  in  the  well 
known  Indian  style  of  high  art,  commemorative  of 
this  event.  It  has  always  struck  us  that  the  savage 
order  of  drawing  resembles  very  much  that  of  the 
ancient  Egyptian — except  in  the  matter  of  drawing 
at  sight,  with  bow  or  rifle,  on  the  white  man. 


CHAPTER    II. 

A  CHAPTER  OF  INTRODUCTIONS— PROFESSOR  PALEOZOIC — TAMMANY  SACHEM — DOCTOR 

PYTHAGORAS — GENUINE   MUGGS  —  COLON    AND   SEMI-COLON — SHAMUS   DOBEBN 

TENACIOUS  GRIPE — BUGS  AND  PHILOSOPHY — HOW  GRIPE  BECAME  A  REPUBLICAN. 

WHEN"  permission  was  given  me  to  draw  upon 
the  journal  of  our  trip  for  such  material  as  I 
might  desire,  it  was  stipulated  that  the  camp-names 
should  be  adhered  to.  A  company  on  the  plains  is 
no  respecter  of  persons,  and  titles  which  might  have 
caused  oifense  before  starting  were  received  in  good 
part,  and  worn  gracefully  thenceforward. 

Our  leader,  Professor  Paleozoic,  ordinarily  existed 
in  a  sort  of  transition  state  between  the  primary 
and  tertiary  formations.  He  could  tell  cheese  from 
chalk  under  the  microscope,  and  show  that  one  was 
full  of  the  fossil  and  the  other  of  the  living  evidences 
of  animal  life.  A  worthy  man,  vastly  more  troubled 
with  rocks  on  the  brain  than  ''rocks"  in  the  pocket. 

Learning  had  once  come  near  making  him  mad, 
but  from  this  sad  fate  he  was  happily  saved  by  a 
somewhat  Pickwickian  blunder.  While  in  Kansas, 
some  years  since,  he  penetrated  a  remote  portion  of 
the  wilderness,  where,  as  he  was  happy  in  believing, 
none  but  the  native  savage,  or,  possibly,  the  prime- 
val man,  could  ever  have  tarried  long  enough  to  leave 
any  sign   behind.      Imagine  his  astonishment  and 

(36) 


A   PICKWICKIAN   BLUNDER.  37 

delight,  therefore,  when  from  the  tangled  grass  he 
drew  an  upright  stone,  with  lines  chiseled  on  three 
sides  and  on  the  fourth  a  rude  figure  resembling 
more  than  any  thing  else  one  of  those  odd  fictions 
which  geologists  call  restored  specimens.  On  a  ledge 
near  were  huge  depressions  like  foot-prints.  They 
were  foot-prints  of  birds,  no  doubt,  and  quite  as  per- 
fect as  those  found  in  more  favored  localities,  and 
from  which  whole  skeletons  had  been  constructed  by 
learned  men. 

Both  specimens  were  forwarded  to,  and  at  the 
expense  of,  noted  savans  of  the  East.  Our  professor 
called  the  pillar  from  the  tangled  grass  an  altar 
raised  by  early  races  to  the  winds.  The  short  lines, 
he  suggested,  designated  the  different  points  of  the 
compass,  while  the  rude  figure  was  intended  for 
Boreas.  Our  scientists  toward  the  rising  sun  met 
the  boxes  at  the  depot,  paid  charges,  and  careful 
draymen  bore  them  to  the  expectant  museum. 

One  hour  after,  seven  wise  men  might  have  been 
seen  wending  their  way  sorrowfully  homeward,  with 
hands  crossed  meditatively  under  their  coat-tails,  and 
pocket  vacuums  where  lately  were  modern  coins. 
Government  clearly  had  a  case  against  our  professor. 
Science  decided  that  he  had  removed  a  stone  telling 
in  surveyors'  signs  just  what  section  and  township 
it  was  on.  The  figure  which  he  had  imagined  a 
heathen  idea  of  Boreas  was  the  fancy  of  some  sur- 
veyor's idle  moment  —  a  shocking  sketch  of  an  im- 
possible bufi^alo.  Whether  the  bird-tracks  had  a 
common  origin,  or  were  hewn  by  the  hatchets  of  the 
red  man,  is  a  point  still  under  discussion. 


38  BUFFALO   LAND. 

A  worthy  man,  as  before  remarked,  was  tlie  pro- 
fessor, full  of  knowledge,  genial  in  camp,  and,  having 
rubbed  his  eye-tooth  on  a  section  stone,  geological 
authority  of  the  highest  order.  When  the  professor 
said  a  particular  rock  belonged  to  the  cretaceous  for- 
mation, one  might  safely  conclude  that  no  modern 
influences  had  been  at  work  either  on  that  rock  or 
in  that  vicinity.     That  question  was  settled. 

]N"ext  came  Tammany  Sachem,  our  heavy  weight 
and  our  mystery.  Before  joining  our  party,  he  had 
been  a  New  York  alderman,  noted  for  prowess  in 
annual  aldermanic  clam-bakes  at  Coney  Island.  He 
was  wont  to  exhibit  a  medal,  the  prize  of  such  a 
tournament,  on  which  several  immense  clams  were 
racing  to  the  griddle,  for  the  honor  of  being  devoured 
by  the  city  fathers. 

A  green-ribbed  hunting  coat  traversed  his  rotund- 
ity, which  had  the  generous  swell  of  a  puncheon. 
His  face  was  reddish,  and  his  nose  like  a  beacon- 
light  against  a  sunset  sky.  When  you  thought  him 
awake,  he  was  half  asleep;  when  you  thought  him 
asleep,  he  was  wide  awake.  A  look  of  extreme 
happiness  always  beamed  on  his  face  when  mis- 
fortunes impended.  Per  contra,  successes  made  him 
suspicious  and  morose.  Xew  York  aldermen  have 
always  been  a  puzzle  to  the  nation  at  large.  Per- 
haps our  friend's  facial  contradictions,  put  on  origin- 
ally as  one  of  the  tricks  of  the  trade,  had  become 
chronic  from  long  usage.  We  have  since  learned 
that  the  sachems  of  Tammany  laugh  the  loudest 
and  joke  the  most  freely  when  under  affliction. 

When  I  was  appointed  editor,  the  Sachem  volun- 


CUPID   AND   CLAMS.  41 

teered  as  local  reporter.  Many  of  the  items  he 
gathered  are  entered  in  our  log-book  in  rhyme,  and 
to  these  pages  some  of  them  are  transferred  verba- 
tim. In  wooing  the  muses,  our  alderman  certainly 
acted  out  of  character.  The  ideal  poet  is  thin  in- 
.  stead  of  obese,  and  he  is  a  reckless  innovator  who 
lays  claim  to  any  measure  of  the  divine  afflatus 
without  possessing  either  a  pale  face,  thin  form,  or 
a  garret. 

As  to  what  drove  a  !N'ew  York  alderman  to  the 
society  of  buifaloes,  we  had  but  one  explanation, 
and  that  was  Sachem's  own.  We  knew  that  he  dis- 
liked women  in  every  form,  Sorosis  and  Anti-Sorosis, 
bitter  and  sweet  alike.  According  to  his  statement, 
made  to  us  in  good  faith,  and  which  I  chronicle  in 
the  same,  Cupid  had  once  essayed  to  drive  a  dart 
into  Sachem's  heart,  but,  in  doing  so,  the  barb  also 
struck  and  wounded  his  liver.  As  his  love  increased, 
his  health  failed.  His  liver  became  aifected  in  the 
same  ratio  as  his  heart.  This  was  touching  our 
alderman  in  a  tender  spot.  Imagine  a  INTew  York 
city  father  without  digestion ;  what  a  subject  of  scorn 
he  would  become  to  his  constituency!  Our  alderman 
fled  from  Cupid,  clams,  and  his  beloved  Gotham,  and 
sought  health  and  buffalo  on  the  plains  of  Kansas. 
As  he  remarked  to  us  pathetically:  "A  good  liver 
makes  a  good  husband.  Indigestion  frightens  con- 
nubial bliss  out  of  the  window.  Pills,  my  boy,  pills 
is  the  quietus  of  love.  If  you  wish  Cupid  to  leave, 
give  him  a  dose  of  'em.  The  liver,  instead  of  the 
heart,  is  at  the  bottom  of  half  the  suicides." 

Doctor  Pythagoras  in  years  was  fifty,  and  in  stature 
3 


42  BUFFALO    LAND. 

short.  His  favorite  theory  was  "development,"  and 
this  he  carried  to  depths  which  would  have  astonished 
Darwin  himself.  How  humble  he  used  to  make  us 
feel  by  digging  at  the  roots  of  the  family  tree  until  its 
uttermost  fiber  lay  between  an  oyster  and  a  sponge ! 
(Rumor  charged  him  with  waiting  so  long  for  diseases 
to  develop,  that  his  patients  developed  into  spirits.) 
While  he  indorsed  Darwin,  however,  he  also  admired 
Pythagoras.  The  latter's  doctrine  of  metempsychosis 
he  Darwinized.  In  their  transmigration  from  one 
body  to  another,  souls  developed,  taking  a  higher  or- 
der of  being  with  each  change,  until  finally  fitted  to 
enter  the  land  of  spirits.  The  soul  of  a  jack-of-all- 
trades  was  one  which  developed  slowly,  and  picked 
up  a  new  craft  with  each  new  body.  Like  Pythag- 
oras, he  remembered  several  previous  bodies  which 
his  soul  had  animated,  among  others  that  of  the  orig- 
inal Rarey,  who  existed  in  Egpyt  some  centuries  be- 
fore the  modern  usurper  was  born.  If  souls  proved 
entirely  unworthy  during  the  probationary  or  human 
period,  they  were  cast  back  into  the  brute  creation  to 
try  it  over  again.  To  this  class  belonged  prize-fight- 
ers. Congressmen,  and  the  like.  With  them  the  past 
w^as  a  blank — an  unsuccessful  problem  washed  from 
the  slate.  The  doctor  had  a  hobby  that  a  vicious 
horse  was  only  a  vicious  man  entered  into  a  lower  or- 
der of  being.  To  demonstrate  this  he  had  traveled, 
and  still  persisted  in  traveling,  on  eccentric  horses, 
for  the  purpose  of  reasoning  wdth  them.  But  his 
Egyptian  lore  had  been  lost  in  transmission,  and  his 
falls,  kicks,  and  bites  became  as  many  as  the  moons 
which  had  passed  over  his  head. 


THE   MUGGSES.  45 

Genuine  Muggs  was  an  Englisliman.  The  an- 
tipodes of  Tammany  Sachem,  who  would  not  believe 
any  thing,  Muggs  swallowed  every  thing.  He  had 
already  absorbed  so  much  in  this  way  that  he  knew 
all  about  the  United  States  before  visiting  it.  Given 
half  a  chance,  he  would  undoubtedly  have  told  the 
savage  more  about  the  latter's  habits  than  the  ab- 
origine himself  knew.  It  was  positively  impossible 
for  him  to  learn  any  thing.  His  round  British  body 
was  so  full  of  indisputable  facts  that  another  one 
^  would  have  burst  it.  In  the  Presidential  alphabet, 
from  Alpha  Washington  to  Omega  Grant,  he  knew 
all  of  our  rulers''  tricks  and  trades,  and  understood 
better  the  crooked  ways  of  the  White  House  than  our 
own  talented  Jenkins. 

British  phlegm  incased  his  soul,  and  British 
leather  his  feet.  From  heel  to  crown  he  was  com- 
pletely a  Briton.  His  mutton-chop  whiskers  came 
just  so  far,  and  the  h's  dropped  in  and  out  of  his  ut- 
terings  in  a  perfectly  natural  way.  In  the  Briton's 
alphabet,  Sachem  used  to  remark,  the  /  is  so  big  that 
it  is  no  wonder  the  H  is  often  crowded  out. 

Muggs  was  a  fair  representative  of  the  average 
Englishman  who  has  traveled  somewhat.  The  eye- 
teeth  of  these  persons  are  generally  cut  with  a  slash, 
and  they  are  forever  after  sore-mouthed.  For  a 
maiden  effort  they  never  suck  knowledge  gently  in, 
but  attempt  a  gulp  which  strangles.  The  conse- 
quence of  this  hasty  acquiring  is  a  bloated  condition. 
The  partly-traveled  Briton  seems,  at  first  acquaint- 
ance, full  and  swollen  with  knowledge;  but  should 


46  BUFFALO   LATs^D. 

the  student  of  learning  apply  the  prick,  the  result  ob- 
tained will  generally  prove  to  be — gas. 

Over  our  great  country,  some  of  the  family  of 
Muggs  meet  one  at  every  turn.  Often  they  scurry 
along  solitarily,  but  occasionally  in  groups.  In  the 
former  case  they  are  unsocial  to  every  body — in  the 
latter  to  every  body  except  their  own  party.  The 
bliss  which  comes  from  ignorance  must  be  of  a  thor- 
oughly enjoyable  nature,  for  the  Muggses  certainly 
do  enjoy  themselves.  They  will  pass  through  a  coun- 
try, remaining  completely  uncommunicative  and  self- 
wrapped,  and  know  less  of  it  after  six  months'  traveling 
than  an  American  in  two.  The  professor  says  he  has 
met  them  in  the  lonely  parks  of  the  Rocky  Mount- 
ains and  in  the  fishing  and  hunting  solitudes  of  the 
Canadas.  If  they  have  been  an  unusually  long  time 
without  seeing  a  human  being,  they  may  possibly 
catch  at  an  eye-glass  and  fling  themselves  abruptly 
into  a  few  remarks.  But  it  is  in  a  tone  which  says, 
plainer  than  words,  ''No  use  in  your  going  any 
further,  man;  I  have  absorbed  all  the  beauties  and 
knowledge  of  this  locality." 

It  is  a  rare  treat  to  see  a  coach  delivered  of  Muggs 
at  a  country  inn.  "Hi,  porter,  look  hout  for  my  lug- 
gage, you  know.  Tell  the  publican  some  chops,  rare, 
and  lively  now,  and  a  mug  of  hale,  and,  if  I  can  'ave 
it,  a  room  to  myself."  If  the  latter  request  is 
granted,  and  you  are  inquisitive  enough  to  take  a 
peep,  you  may  see  Muggs  sturdily  surveying  himself 
in  the  glass,  and  giving  certain  satisfied  pats  to  his 
cravat  and  waistcoat,  as  if  to  satisfy  them  that  they 
covered  a  Briton.     Could  the  mirror  which  reflects 


C5>^^^^-^^^  jrZ^^S'^-^^/y7.i^4^yiiU^^/^^- 


ONE  OF   THE    MUGGSES. 


COLON    SENIOK.  49 

his  face  also  reflect  his  thoughts,  they  would  read 
about  as  follows :  "  Muggs,  you  are  a  Briton,  and  this 
hotel  must  be  made  aware  of  the  fact.  Whatever 
you  do,  be  guilty  of  no  un-English  act  while  in  this 
outlandish  land.  Your  skin  is  now  full  of  knowl- 
edge, and  let  not  other  travelers,  like  so  many  mos- 
quitoes, suck  it  from  you.  Your  forefathers  blessed 
their  eyes  and  dropped  their  h's,  and  so  must  you." 
And  perhaps  by  this  time,  if  the  chops  have  arrived, 
he  dines  in  seclusion  and,  by  so  doing,  loses  a  fund  of 
information  which  his  fellow-travelers  have  obtained 
by  common  exchange. 

Again  on  the  way,  Muggs  nestles  in  a  corner  of 
the  coach  and  acts  strictly  on  the  defensive,  indig- 
nantly withdrawing  his  square-toed,  thick-soled  Eng- 
lish shoes,  should  neighboring  feet  attempt  to  hob- 
nob w^ith  them.  On  a  trip  through  Buffalo  Land, 
however,  it  is  difficult  for  one  of  her  Britannic  Maj- 
esty's subjects  to  maintain  the  national  dignity.  But 
this  fact  Genuine  Muggs — our  Muggs — evidently  did 
not  know.  Had  he  known  it,  he  would  never  have 
gone  with  us  in  the  world.  49 

Another  of  our  party  rejoiced  in  the  appellation  of 
"Colon."  He  obtained  this  title  because  his  eccen- 
tric specialities  of  character  several  times  came  very 
near  putting  if  not  a  full  stop,  at  least  the  next  thing 
to  it,  upon  the  particular  page  of  history  which  our 
party  was  making.  Longitudinally,  Mr.  Colon  was 
all  of  five  feet  eleven ;  in  circumference,  perhaps  a 
score  or  so  of  inches.  He  possessed  a  fair  share  of 
oddities,  and  what  is  better  an  equally  fair  one  of  dol- 
lars.    The  hemispheres  of  his  philanthropic  brain 


50  BUFFALO    LAND. 

seemed  equally  pre-empted  by  philosophy  and  bugs. 
Engaging  in  some  immense  work  for  the  ameliora- 
tion of  mankind,  he  would  pursue  it  with  ardor,  dwell 
upon  it  with  unction,  and  then  suddenly  leave  it,  half 
finished,  to  capture  a  rare  spider.  Philosophy  and 
Entomology  had  constant  combat  for  Colon,  and  vic- 
tory tarried  with  neither  long  enough  for  the  seat 
of  war  to  be  cultivated  and  blossom  with  any  lux- 
uriance. At  the  time  he  joined  our  party  one  of  his 
grandest  charitable  projects  had  lately  died  in  a  very 
early  period  of  infancy,  entirely  supplanted  in  his 
affections  for  the  time  being  by  the  prospect  of  a 
chase  after  Brazilian  insects.  During  our  journey  it 
was  no  uncommon  thing  for  us  to  see  his  thin  form 
all  covered  with  bugs  and  reptiles,  which  had  crawled 
out  of  the  collecting  boxes  carried  in  his  pockets. 
If  this  meets  our  friend's  eye,  let  him  bear  no  malice, 
but  reflect,  in  the  language  of  his  own  invariable 
answer  to  our  remonstrances,  "It  can't  be  helped." 
Should  the  public  parade  of  his  faults  be  disagreea- 
ble, he  can  sufPer  no  more  from  them  now  than  we  did 
in  the  past,  and  may  perhaps  call  them  into  closer 
quarters  for  the  future. 

^Mr.  Colon's  son,  of  two  years  less  than  a  score,  we 
dubbed  Semi-colon,  as  being  a  smaller  edition,  or  to 
be  exact,,  precisely  one-half  of  what  the  senior  Colon 
was.  So  perfect  was  the  concord  of  the  two  that  the 
junior  had  fallen  into  a  chronic  and  to  us  amusing 
habit  of  answering  "  Ditto  "  to  the  senior's  expressions 
of  opinion.  Divide  the  father's  conversation  by  two, 
add  an  assent  to  every  thing,  and  the  result,  socially 
considered,  would  be  the  son.    It  may  readily  be  seen, 


DOBEEN   AND   GRIPE.  51 

therefore,  why  the  professor  for  short  should  call  him, 
as  he  nearly  always  did,  "  Semi." 

Shamus  Dobeen,  our  cook  and  body-servant,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  account,  was  the  child  of  an  impov- 
erished but  noble  Irish  family.  Indeed,  we  doubt  if 
any  Irishman  was  ever  promoted  from  shovel  laborer 
to  body-servant  without  suddenly  remembering  that 
he  was  "descinded"  from  a  line  of  kings.  At  the 
time  Shamus  was  added  to  the  population  of  Ireland, 
the  patrimonial  estate  had  dwindled  down  to  a  peat 
bog.  As  this  soon  ^'petered  out,"  Shamus  went 
from  the  exhausted  moor  into  the  cold  world.  He 
had  been  by  turns  expelled  patriot,  dirt  disturber  on 
new  railroads,  gunner  on  a  Confederate  cruiser,  and 
high  private  in  a  Union  regiment.  The  position  of 
gunner  he  lost  by  touching  off  a  piece  before  the 
muzzle  had  been  run  out,  in  consequence  of  which 
part  of  the  vessel's  side  went  off  suddenly  with  the 
gun.  Captured,  he  readily  became  a  Union  soldier, 
and  could,  without  doubt,  have  transformed  himself 
into  a  Cheyenne,  or  a  Patagonian,  had  occasion  for 
either  ever  required. 

While  in  Topeka,  our  party  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Tenacious  Gripe,  a  well-known  Kansas  politician, 
and  who  attached  himself  to  us  for  the  trip.  Every 
person  in  the  State  knew  him,  had  knowm  him  in 
territorial  times,  and  would  know  him  until  either 
the  State  or  he  ceased  to  be. 

Flung  headlong  from  somewhere  into  Kansas  dur- 
ing the  "border  ruffian"  period,  he  would  probably 
have  passed  as  rapidly  out  of  it  had  he  been  allowed 
to  do  so  peaceably.     But  as  the  slavery  party  en- 


52  BUFFALO   LAND. 

deavored  to  push  him,  he  concluded  to  stick.  At 
that  particular  time,  he  was  a  moderate  Democrat  or 
conservative  Republican,  and  consequently  had  no 
particular  principles.  But  the  slavery  party  sup- 
posed he  had,  and  to  them  accordingly  he  became 
an  object  of  suspicion.  They  assumed  the  aggres- 
sive, and  he  at  once  resolved  into  a  staunch  Repub- 
lican. Had  the  latter  first  struck  him,  he  would 
have  been  as  staunch  a  Democrat.  And  Gripe  has 
never  known  how  near  he  came  to  being  the  latter. 
The  Republicans  had  just  decided  to  order  him  out 
of  the  state  as  a  border  ruffian  spy,  when  the  Demo- 
crats took  action  and  did  so  for  his  not  being  one. 
Those  were  troublous  times.  He  went  to  the  front 
at  once  in  the  antislavery  ranks,  and  has  stayed  there 
ever  since.  Sore-headed  men  are  apt  to  become 
famous.  There  were  those  in  our  late  war  who  were 
kicked  by  adversity  into  the  very  arms  of  Fame. 

Our  friend  had  been  in  both  the  upper  and  lower 
houses  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  had  rolled  Con- 
gressional logs,  moreover,  until  he  was  hardly  happy 
without  having  his  hands  on  one. 


CHAPTER    III. 

TM   TOPBKA   AUCTIONEER — MUQGS  GETS  A  BARGAIN — CYNOCEPHALUS — INDIAN   BDil- 
MER    IN    KANSAS — HUNTING   PRAIRIE   CHICKENS OUR   FIRST    DAY's   SPORT. 

WE  had  three  or  four  days  to  spend  in  Topeka, 
as  it  was  there  that  we  were  to  purchase  our 
outfit  for  the  buffalo  region.  With  the  latter  purpose 
in  view,  we  were  wandering  along  Kansas  Avenue 
the  next  morning,  when  a  horseman  came  furi- 
ously down  the  street,  shouting,  at  the  top  of  his 
lungs,  "  Sell  um  as  he  wars  har !  "  Semi  hastily  re- 
treated behind  Mr.  Colon,  thinking  it  might  be  a 
Jayhawker,  while  the  professor  adjusted  his  glasses. 

Muggs  said  the  individual  reminded  him  of  the 
famous  charge  at  Balaklava.  Muggs  had  never  seen 
Balaklava,  but  other  Englishmen  had,  which  an- 
swered the  same  purpose. 

The  equestrian  proved  to  be  a  well-known  auc- 
tioneer of  Topeka,  who  may  be  discovered  at  almost 
any  time  tearing  through  the  streets  on  some  spavined 
or  bow-legged  old  cob,  auctioneering  it  off  as  he  goes. 
His  favorite  expression  is,  "  I  '11  sell  um  as  he  wars 
har."  What  particular  selling  charm  lies  concealed 
in  this  announcement  even  Gripe  could  not  tell. 
Sachem  thought  that  possibly  he  had  been  brought 
up  at  some  exposed  frontier  post,  where,  on  account 
of  Indian  prejudices,  wearing  hair  is  a  rare  luxury. 

(55) 


56  BUFFALO  LAND. 

To  say  there  that  a  man  was  still  able  to  comb  his 
own  scalp-lock  denoted  an  extraordinary  state  of 
physical  perfection.  Expressions  of  praise  for  hu- 
mans are  often  applied  to  horses,  and  so,  perhaps, 
the  one  in  question.  "I  have  heard,"  quoth  our 
alderman,  in  support  of  this  assertion,  "Fitz  say  of 
a  belle,  at  a  charity  ball,  what  a  '  bootiful  cweature ; ' 
and  I  have  heard  him,  the  day  after,  in  his  stable, 
say  the  same  thing  of  his  horse." 

That  horse-auction  was  a  sight  worth  seeing.  The 
crowd  collected  most  thickly  on  the  corner  of  Kansas 
Avenue  and  Sixth  Street,  and  before  it  the  cob  came 
to  a  stand.  And  it  was  a  stand — as  stiff  and  pain- 
ful as  that  of  a  retired  veteran  put  on  dress  parade. 
The  limbs  would  have  had  full  duty  to  perform  in 
supporting  the  carcass  alone,  which  had  evidently 
been  in  light  marching  order  for  years  past.  The 
additional  weight  of  the  auctioneer  must  certainly 
have  proved  altogether  too  much,  had  not  the 
horse  heard,  for  the  first  time,  of  the  wonderful 
qualities  with  which  he  was  still  endowed. 

Seeing  a  whole  corner,  with  gaping  mouths,  swallow- 
ing the  statement  that  he  was  only  six  years  old, 
reduced  by  hard  work,  and  could,  after  three  months 
grass,  pull  a  ton  of  coal,  he  would  have  been  a  thank- 
less horse  indeed,  which  could  not  strain  a  point,  or 
all  his  points,  for  such  a  rider. 

And  so,  when  the  spurs  suddenly  rattled  against 
his  ribs,  the  old  skin  full  of  bones  gave  a  snort  of 
pain,  which  the  auctioneer  called  "Sperit,  gentlemm !  " 
and  away  up  the  broad  avenue  he  rolled,  at  a  speed 
which  threatened  to  break  the  rider's*  neck,  and  his 


'an  unfoktunate  wink.  59 

own  legs  as  well.  His  tail  having  been  cut  short  in 
youth,  and  retrimmed  in  old  age,  the  outfit  made  but 
a  sorry  figure  going  up  the  street.  The  Professor 
said  it  suggested  the  idea  of  some  fossil  vertabra,  with 
a  paint  brush  attached  to  its  end,  running  away  with 
a  geological  student. 

After  the  return  and  cries  for  more  bids,  Muggs 
must  have  winked  at  the  auctioneer — possibly,  to 
slyly  telegraph  him  the  fact  that  in  "Hengland" 
they  were  up  to  such  games.  At  least  the  auctioneer 
so  declared,  and  advancing  the  price  one  dollar  in 
accordance  therewith,  finally  knocked  the  brute  down 
to  him.  Then  the  British  wrath  bubbled  and  boiled. 
The  auctioneer  was  inexorable.  Muggs  had  winked, 
and  that  was  an  advanced  bid,  according  to  com- 
mercial custom  the  land  over.  Articles  were  often 
sold  simply  by  the  vibration  of  an  eyelash,  and  not 
a  word  uttered. 

The  Professor  remarked  that  in  law  winks  would 
doubtless  be  accepted  as  evidence.  It  was  a  recog- 
nized principle  of  the  statutes  that  he  who  winked  at 
a  matter  acquiesced  in  it,  and  indeed  such  signals 
were  often  more  expressive  than  words.  Sachem 
sustained  this  point,  and  added  further  that  he  had 
known  many  a  man's  head  broken  on  account  of  an 
injudicious  wink. 

The  crowd,  with  almost  unanimous  voice,  pro- 
nounced the  auctioneer  right  and  Muggs  wrong. 

"Me  take  the  brute!"  exclaimed  the  indignant 
Briton;  *'why  he  can  'ardly  stand  up  long  enough  to 
be  knocked  down.  Except  in  France,  he  could  be 
put  to  no  earthly  use  whatever.     'Is  kn^s  knock  to- 


60  BUFFALO   LAND. 

gether  in  an  ague  quartette,  and  'is  tail — look  at  it ! 
It's  hincapable  of  knocking  a  fly  off;  looks  more  like 
flying  ofi*  hitself !  "  Muggs  further  declared  the  sale 
was  an  attempt  on  the  owner's  part  to  evade  the 
health  oflicer,  who  would  have  been  around,  in  a 
couple  of  days,  to  have  the  carcass  removed. 

The  auctioneer  waxed  belligerent,  the  crowd  noisy, 
and  Muggs,  like  a  true  Englishman,  secured  peace 
at  the  price  of  British  gold.  The  horse  was  on  his 
hands,  having  barely  escaped  being  on  the  town, 
and  an  enthusiastic  crowd  of  urchins  escorted  the 
purchase  to  a  livery  stable.  Muggs  christened  the 
animal  Cynocephalus,  and  soon  afterward  sold  him  to 
Mr.  Colon,  who  was  of  an  economical  turn,  for  the 
use  of  his  son  Semi. 

"I  have  heard,"  said  the  thoughtful  father,  "that 
the  buffalo  grass  of  the  plains  is  very  nourishing. 
All  that  the  poor  steed  needs  is  care  and  fat  pastures. 
Semi  can  give  him  the  former,  and  over  the  latter 
our  future  journey  lies.  I  have  also  learned  that 
what  is  especially  needed  in  a  hunting  horse  is 
steadiness,  and  this  quality  the  animal  certainly 
possesses." 

From  some  months'  acquaintance  with  the  pur- 
chase, we  can  say  that  Cynocephalus  was  steady  to  a 
remarkable  degree.  We  are  firmly  persuaded  that  a 
heavy  battery  might  have  fired  a  salute  over  his  back 
without  moving  him,  unless,  possibly,  the  concussion 
knocked  him  down. 

Our  first  hunting  morning,  the  second  day  pre- 
ceding our  hegira  westward,  came  to  us  with  a  clear 
sky,  the  su»  shedding  a  mellow  warmth,  and  the  air 


INDIAN   SUMMER   IN   KANSAS.  61 

full  of  those  exhilarating  qualities  which  our  lungs 
afterward  drank  in  so  freely  on  the  plains.  Indian 
summer,  delightful  anywhere,  is  especially  so  in 
Kansas. 

From  the  advance  guard  of  the  winter  king  not  a 
single  chilling  zephyr  steals  forward  among  the  tar- 
rying ones  of  summer.  Soothing  and  gentle  as  when 
laden  with  spicy  fragrance  south,  they  here  shower 
the  whole  land  with  sunbeams.  Earth  no  longer 
seems  a  heavy,  inert  mass,  but  floats  in  that  smoky, 
fleecy  atmosphere  with  which  artists  delight  so  much 
to  wrap  their  angels.  It  is  as  if  the  warmer,  lighter 
clouds  of  sunny  weather  were  nestling  close  to  earth, 
frightened  from  the  skies,  like  a  flock  of  white  swans, 
at  the  October  howls  of  winter.  But  I  never  could 
agree  with  those  writers  who  call  this  season  dreamy. 
If  such  it  be,  it  is  surely  a  dream  of  motion.  All  na- 
ture appears  quickened.  The  inhabitants  of  the  air 
have  commenced  their  southern  pilgrimage,  and  the 
oldest  and  leading  ganders  may  be  heard  croaking, 
day-time  and  night-time,  to  their  wedge-shaped  flocks 
their  narrative  of  summer  experiences  at  the  Arctic 
circle,  and  their  commands  for  the  present  journey. 

Sachem,  I  find,  has  recorded  as  a  discovery  in  nat- 
ural history  that  geese  form  their  flocks  in  wedge 
shape  that  they  may  easier  "make  a  split"  for  the 
south  when  Nature,  with  her  north  pole,  stirs  up 
their  feeding  and  breeding-ground^  in  IN'ovember 
gales,  and  changes  their  fields  of  operation  into  fields 
of  ice.     Sachem  was  sadly  addicted  to  slang  phrases. 

All  game,  I  may  remark,  is  wilder  at  this  season 
of  the  year  than  earlier.     If  the  earth  is  dreaming, 


62  BUFFALO   LAND. 

its  wild  inhabitants  certainly  are  not.  Men,  too,  have 
thrown  off  the  summer  lethargy,  and  shave  their 
neighbors  as  closely  as  ever.  If  any  one  thinks  it  a 
dreamy  season  of  the  year,  let  him  test  the  matter 
practically  by  being  a  day  or  two  behindhand  with  a 
payment. 

In  reply  to  a  question,  the  professor  told  us  that 
the  smoky  condition  of  the  atmosphere  was  probably 
caused  by  the  exhalation  of  phosphorus  from  decay- 
ing vegetation.  Sachem  remarked  that  out  of  twenty 
different  objects  which  he  had  submitted  for  ex- 
amination, and  as  many  questions  that  he  had  asked, 
nine-tenths  of  the  results  contained  phosphorus  in 
some  shape.  It  was  becoming  monotonous  and  dan- 
gerous. 

While  the  party  thus  mused  and  speculated,  we  had 
come  out  into  the  open  country,  south-west  of  town, 
and  were  now  approaching  Webster's  Mound,  a  cone- 
shaped  hill  from  which  we  afterward  obtained  some 
excellent  views.  For  the  trip  we  had  been  supplied 
with  two  dogs,  one  a  setter,  belonging  to  the  private 
secretary  of  the  Governor,  and  the  other  a  pointer, 
the  property  of  a  real  estate  dealer.  The  former  was 
an  ancient  and  venerable  animal.  The  rheumatism 
was  seized  of  his  backbone  and  held  high  revel  upon 
the  juices  which  should  have  lubricated  the  joints. 
Even  his  tail  wagged  with  a  jerk,  inclining  the  body 
to  whichever  side  it  had  last  swung.  He  was  so  full 
of  rheumatism  that  whenever  he  scented  a  chicken 
the  pain  evoked  by  the  excitement  caused  him  to 
howl  with  anguish.  The  pointer,  per  contra,  was 
hale  and  swift,  but  had  lost  one  eye ;  and  a  shot  from 


THE  hunter's  triumph.  63 

the  same  charge  which  destroyed  that  organ,  rattled 
also  on  his  left  ear-drum,  and  that  membrane  no 
longer  responded  to  the  shouts  of  the  hunter.  On 
one  side  he  could  see,  and  not  hear — on  the  other, 
hear,  but  not  see.  Nevertheless,  with  gestures  for 
the  left  view,  and  shouts  on  the  right,  fair  work 
might  still  be  obtained.  Both  dogs  rejoiced  in  the 
uncommon  name  of  Rover,  and  both  possessed  that 
most  excellent  of  all  points  in  such  animals,  a  steady 
point. 

If  any  of  my  readers  are  fond  of  field-sports,  and 
have  not  yet  shot  prairie-chickens  over  a  dog,  let 
them  take  their  guns  and  hie  to  the  West,  and  taste 
for  themselves  of  this  rare  sport.  With  the  wide 
prairie  around  him,  keeping  the  bird  in  full  view  dur- 
ing its  passage  through  the  air,  one  can  choose  his 
distance  for  firing  and  witness  the  full  efi^ect  of  his 
shot.  I  think  the  brief  instant  when  the  flight  of  the 
bird  is  checked  and  it  drops  head-foremost  to  earth,  is 
the  sweetest  moment  of  all  to  the  hunter. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

OHICKEN-SHOOTING  CONTINUED — A  SCIENTIFIC  PARTY  TAKE  THE  BIRDS  ON  THL 
•^lUG — EVILS  OP  PAST  PIRING — AN  OLD-FASHIONED  "SLOW  SHOT" — THB 
HABITS  OP  THB  PRAIRIE-CHICKEN — ITS  PROSPECTIVE  EXTINCTION — MODE  OF 
HUNTING   IT — THE    GOPHER   SCALP    LAW. 

WE  had  left  the  road  and  were  now  driving  over 
the  fine  prairie  skirting  Webster's  Mound,  the 
grass  being  about  a  foot  high  and  affording  excellent 
cover.  Taking  advantage  of  its  being  matted  so 
closely  from  the  early  frosts,  the  old  cocks  hid  under 
the  thick  tufts  and  called  for  close  work  on  the  part 
of  our  dogs. 

Back  and  forth  across  our  path  these  intelligent 
animals  ranged,  the  one  fifty  yards  or  so  to  our  right, 
the  other  as  many  to  our  left,  crossing  and  re-cross- 
ing, with  open  mouths  drinking  in  eagerly  the  tainted 
breeze.  This  latter  was  in  our  favor,  and  both  dogs 
suddenly  joined  company  and  worked  up  into  it,  with 
outstretched  noses  pointing  to  game  that  was  evi- 
dently close  ahead. 

The  pointer  crawled  cautiously,  like  a  tiger,  his 
spotted  belly  sweeping  the  earth,  and  his  tail,  which 
had  been  lashing  rapidly  an  instant  before,  gradually 
stiffening.  He  would  open  his  mouth  suddenly, 
drink  in  a  quick,  deep  draught  of  air,  and,  closing 
the  jaws  again,  hold  it  until  obliged  to  take  another 

(64) 


THE   DOGS   COME    TO   A   POINT.  65 

respiration.  He  seemed  as  loath  to  let  the  scent  of 
the  chicken  pass  from  his  nostrils  as  a  hungry  news- 
boy is  to  quit  the  savory  precincts  of  Delmonico's 
kitchen  window.  The  setter's  old  bones  appeared  to 
renew  their  youth  under  the  excitement,  and  he  was 
as  active  as  a  retired  war-horse  suddenly  plunged 
into  battle. 

Both  dogs  came  simultaneously  to  a  point — tails 
curved  up  and  rigid,  each  body  motionless  as  if  cut 
in  marble  and  one  forepaw  lifted.  'No  wonder  so 
many  men  are  wild  with  a  passion  for  hunting.  Kind 
Providence  smiles  upon  the  legitimate  sport  from 
conception  to  close,  and  gives  us  a  ^ose  to  start  with 
fascinating  to  any  lover  of  the  beautiful,  whether 
hunter  or  not.  But  one  must  not  pause  to  moralize 
while  dogs  are  on  the  point,  or  he  will  have  more 
philosophy  than  chickens. 

All  the  party  had  got  safely  to  ground  and  were 
behind  the  dogs,  with  guns  ready  and  eyes  eagerly 
fastened  on  the  thick  grass  which  concealed  its  treas- 
ure as  completely  as  if  it  had  been  a  thousand  miles 
below  its  roots,  or  on  the  opposite  side  of  this  mun 
dane  sphere  in  China.  JN'ot  a  thing  was  visible  within 
fifty  yards  of  our  noses  save  two  dogs  standing  mo- 
tionless, with  stiffened  tails  and  eyes  fixed  on,  and 
nozzles  pointed  toward,  a  spot  in  the  sea  of  brown, 
withered  grass,  not  ten  feet  away. 

The  Professor  took  out  his  lens,  Mr.  Colon  let 
down  the  hammers  of  his  gun  and  cocked  them  again, 
to  be  sure  all  was  right,  while  Sachem  wore  a  puzzled 
expression  as  if  undecided  whether  the  attitude  of 
the  dogs  indicated  any  thing  particular  or  not.  The 
4 


66  BUFFALO   LAND. 

grass  nodded  and  rustled  in  the  light  wind,  but 
not  a  blade  moved  to  indicate  the  presence  of  any 
living  thing  beneath  it,  while  the  dogs  remained  as 
if  petrified. 

The  Professor  said  it  was  very  remarkable,  and 
wondered  what  had  better  be  done  next.  Mr.  Colon 
thought  that  the  dogs  were  tired,  and  w^e  might  as 
well  get  into  the  wagon.  Another  suggested  at  ran- 
dom that  we  should  set  the  dogs  on,  and  Muggs, 
w^ho  had  probably  heard  the  expression  somewhere, 
cried,  "  Hi,  boys,  on  bloods ! "  At  the  words  the 
dogs  made  a  few  quick  steps  forward,  and  on  the 
instant  the  grass  seemed  alive  with  feathered  forms, 
popping  into  air  like  bobs  in  shuttlecock.  Such  a 
fluttering  and  flying  I  have  never  seen  since,  when 
a  boy,  I  ventured  into  a  dove  cote,  and  was  knocked 
over  by  the  rush  of  the  alarmed  inmates.  From  un- 
der our  very  feet,  almost  brushing  our  faces,  the 
beautiful  pinnated  grouse  of  the  prairies  left  their 
cover,  and  us  also. 

Every  gun  had  gone  off  on  the  instant,  and  we 
doubt  if  one  was  raised  an  inch  higher  than  it  hap- 
pened to  be  w^hen  the  covey  started.  The  Professor 
afterward  extracted  some  stray  shot  from  the  legs  of 
his  boots,  and  the  setter,  which  was  next  to  Muggs,  gave 
a  cr}^  of  pain  for  which  there  was  evidently  other 
cause  than  rheumatism,  as  was  demonstrated  by  his 
retirement  to  the  rear,  from  which  he  refused  to 
budge  until  we  all  got  into  the  wagon,  and  to  which 
he  invariably  retreated  whenever  we  got  out. 

From  the  midst  of  the  birds  which  were  soaring 
away,  one  was  seen  to  rise  suddenly  a  few  feet  above 


THE   SPOKT   CONTINUED.  69 

his  comrades,  and  then  fall  straight  as  a  plummet, 
and  head  first,  to  earth.  It  had  caught  some  stray 
shot  from  the  bombardment — Muggs  claimed  from 
his  gun,  but  this  statement  the  setter,  could  he  have 
spoken,  would  certainly  have  disputed. 

Semi-Colon  brought  in  the  game,  which  proved  to 
be  a  fine  male,  with  whiskers  and  full  plumage,  which 
must  have  made  sad  havoc  among  the  hearts  of  the 
hens,  when  the  old  fellow  was  on  annual  dress  pa- 
rade in  the  spring.  At  that  season  of  the  year  the 
cocks  seek  some  knoll  of  the  prairie,  where  the  grass 
has  been  burnt  or  cut  off,  and  strut  up  and  down  with 
rufiled  feathers,  uttering  meanwhile  a  booming  sound, 
which  can  be  heard  in  a  clear  morning  for  miles. 
The  flabby  pink  skin  that  at  other  seasons  hangs  in 
loose  folds  on  his  neck  is  then  distended  like  a  bag- 
pipe, and  he  is  a  very  different  bird  from  the  same 
individual  in  his  Quaker  gray  and  respectable  sum- 
Fxier  and  fall  habits. 

Ensconced  again  in  the  wagon,  our  party  moved 
forward,  the  dogs,  as  before,  examining  the  prairie. 
The  professor  was  comparing  the  birds  of  the  present 
and  the  past  ages,  when  Muggs  suddenly  blasted  his 
eyes  and  declared  the  beasts  were  at  it  again.  And 
so  they  were,  the  setter  making  a  good  stand  at  some 
game  in  the  grass,  and  the  other  dog,  a  short  distance 
off,  pointing  his  companion.  During  the  remainder 
of  the  day  we  found  many  large  flocks  of  birds,  and 
fired  away  until  two  or  three  swelled  noses  testified 
how  dirty  our  guns  were. 

"Fast  shooting,"  said  the  professor,  as  we  were  on 
our  way  home,   "is  as  bad  as  that  too  slow.     Al- 


70  BUFFALO   LAND. 

though  I  am  no  sportsman  from  practice,  I  love  and 
have  studied  the  principles  of  it.  In  my  father's  day 
the  rule  was,  when  a  bird  rose,  for  a  hunter  to  take 
out  his  snuff-box,  take  snuff,  replace  the  box,  aim,  and 
fire.  You  may  find  the  advice  yet  in  some  works. 
The  shot  then  has  distance  in  which  to  spread.  With 
close  shooting  they  are  all  together,  and  you  might  as 
well  fire  a  bullet.  When  you  have  given  the  bird 
time,  act  quickly.  The  first  sight  is  the  best. 
Again,  the  first  moment  of  flight,  with  most  birds,  is 
very  irregular,  as  it  is  upward,  instead  of  from  you." 

Dobeen  begged  leave  to  inform  our  "honors  "  that 
in  Ireland,  after  a  bird  rose,  the  rule  was,  instead  of 
taking  snuff,  to  take  off  the  boots  before  firing.  The 
professor  thought  that  such  a  habit  related  to  outrun- 
ning the  gamekeeper,  and  was  intended  to  procure 
distance  for  the  poacher  rather  than  the  bird. 

Sachem  stated  that  he  had  known  a  slow  hunter 
once.  He  was  a  revolutionary  veteran,  used  a  revo- 
lutionary musket,  and  believed  in  revolutionary  pow- 
der. He  refused  to  do  any  thing  different  from  what 
his  fathers  did,  and  abhorred  double-barreled  shot- 
guns and  percussion-caps  as  inventions  of  the  devil. 
It  was  constantly,  "General  Washington  did  this," 
and  "Our  army  did  that,"  and  his  old  head  shook 
sadly  at  the  innovations  Young  America  was  making. 
His  ghost,  with  the  revolutionary  musket  on  its 
shoulder,  had  since  been  known  to  chase  hunters, 
with  breech-loaders,  who  were  caught  on  his  favorite 
ground  after  dark.  "Old  1776"  was  great  on  wing- 
shooting,  and  could  be  seen  at  almost  any  time  hob- 
bling over  the  moor,  firing  away  at  snipe  and  water- 


EXTERMINATING   THE   PRAIRIE-CHICKEN.  71 

fowl.  He  was  one  of  those  slow,  deliberate  eases,  al- 
ways taking  snuff  after  the  bird  rose.  There  would 
be  a  glitter  of  fluttering  wings  as  the  game  shot  into 
air.  Down  would  come  the  long  musket,  out  would 
come  the  snuff-box,  and  the  old  soldier  would  go 
through  the  present,  make  ready,  take  snuff,  take 
aim,  and  fire,  all  as  coolly  as  if  on  parade.  The  old 
musket. often  hung  fire  from  five  to  ten  seconds,  and 
the  premonitory  flash  could  be  seen  as  the  shaky 
flint  clattered  down  on  the  pan.  The  veteran  always 
patiently  covered  the  bird  until  the  charge  got  out. 
The  recoil  was  tremendous,  and  the  old  man  often 
went  down  before  the  bird ;  but  such  positions,  he  as- 
serted, were  taken  voluntarily,  as  ones  of  rest.  Some 
said  that  the  gun  had  been  known  to  kick  him  again 
after  he  was  down.'' 

Sachem's  narration  was  here  cut  short  by  the  dogs 
again  pointing.  This  was  followed  by  the  usual  bom- 
bardment, which  over,  the  bag  showed  the  mag- 
nificent aggregate  of  two  chickens  for  the  entire 
day's  sport. 

The  prairie-chicken  is  now  extinct  in  many  of  the 
Western  States  where  it  was  once  well  known. 
Usually,  during  the  first  few  years  of  settlement,  it 
increases  rapidly,  and  is  often  a  nuisance  to  pioneer 
farmers.  Perhaps,  when  the  latter  first  settle  in  a 
country,  a  few  covies  may  be  seen ;  under  the  favora- 
ble influences  of  wheat  and  corn-fields,  the  dozens  in- 
crease to  thousands  and  cover  the  land.  But  with 
denser  settlement  come  more  guns,  and,  what  is  a  far 
more  destructive  agent,  trained  dogs  also.  Under 
the  first  order  of  things,  the  farmer,  with  his  musket, 


72  BUFFALO   LAND. 


might  kill  enough  for  the  home  table.  With  double- 
barreled  gun  and  keen-scented  pointer,  the  sportsman 
and  pot-hunter  think  nothing  of  fifty  or  sixty  birds 
for  a  day's  work.  It  seems  almost  impossible,  under 
such  a  combination,  for  a  covey  to  escape  total  anni- 
hilation. 

Wo  may  suppose  a  couple  of  fair  shots  hunting 
over  a  dog  in  August,  when  the  chickens  lie  close, 
and  the  year's  broods  are  in  their  most  delicate  con- 
dition for  the  table.  The  pointer  makes  a  stand  be- 
fore a  fine  covey  hidden  in  the  thick  grass  before  him. 
The  ready  guns  ask  no  delay,  and,  at  the  word,  he 
flushes  the  chickens  immediately  under  his  nose. 
Each  hunter  takes  those  which  rise  before  him,  or  on 
his  side,  and  if  four  or  less  left  cover  at  the  first 
alarm,  that  number  of  gray-speckled  forms  the  next 
moment  are  down  in  the  grass,  not  to  leave  it  again. 
If  more  rose,  they  are  "marked,"  which  means  that 
their  place  of  alighting  is  carefully  noted,  and,  as  the 
chicken  has  but  a  short  flight,  this  task  is  easy. 
Meanwhile,  the  guns  have  been  reloaded,  the  dog 
flushes  others  of  the  hiding  birds,  and  so  the  sport 
goes  on.  The  birds  that  get  away  are  "marked 
down,"  and  again  found  and  flushed  by  the  dog. 
Without  this  useful  animal  the  chickens  would  mul- 
tiply, despite  any  number  of  hunters.  I  have  often 
seen  covies  go  down  in  the  grass  but  a  few  hundred 
yards  away,  yet  have  tramped  through  the  spot  doz- 
ens of  times  without  raising  a  single  bird.  In 
twenty  years  this  delicious  game  will  probably  be  as 
much  a  thing  of  the  past  as  is  the  Dodo  of  the  Isle 
de  France.     At  the  period    of  our  visit  they  were 


GOPHER   MOUNDS.  73 

already  gathering  into  their  fall  flocks,  which  some- 
times number  a  hundred  or  more.  In  these  they 
remain  until  St.  Valentine  recommends  a  separation. 
During  the  colder  weather  of  winter  they  seek  the 
protection  of  the  timber,  and  may  be  seen  of  morn- 
ings on  the  trees  and  fences.  They  never  roost  there, 
however,  but  pass  the  night  hidden  in  the  adjacent 
grass. 

The  prairie-chicken's  admirers  are  numerous,  other 
animals  beside  man  being  willing  to  dine  on  its  plump 
breast.  We  had  an  illustration  of  this  in  our  first 
day's  shooting.  Sometimes  when  we  fired,  the  report 
would  attract  to  our  vicinity  wandering  hawks,  and 
we  found  that  either  instinct  or  previous  experience 
teaches  these  fierce  hunters  of  the  air  that  in  the 
vicinity  of  their  fellow-hunter,  man,  wounded  birds 
may  be  found.  One  wounded  chicken,  which  fell 
near  us,  was  seized  by  a  hawk  immediately. 

As  we  passed  one  or  two  fields,  indications  of 
gophers  appeared,  their  small  mounds  of  earth  cover- 
ing the  ground.  In  some  counties  these  animals 
formerly  destroyed  crops  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
celebrated  "  Gopher  Act "  was  passed.  This  gave  a 
bounty  of  two  dollars  for  each  scalp,  and  under  it 
many  farms  yielded  more  to  the  acre  than  ever  before 
or  since.  One  of  these  animals  which  we  secured  re- 
sembled in  size  and  shape  the  Norway  rat,  and,  in  the 
softness  and  color  of  its  coat,  was  not  unlike  a  mole. 
The  oddest  thing  was  its  earth-pouches — two  open 
sacks,  one  on  either  side  of  its  head,  and  capable  of 
containing  each  a  tablespoonful  or  more.  These  the 
gopher  employs,  in  his  subterranean  researches,  for 


74  BUFFALO   LAND. 

the  same  purpose  that  his  enemy,  man,  does  a  wheel- 
barrow. Packing  them  with  dirt,  the  little  fellow 
trudges  gayly  to  the  surface,  and  there  cleverly 
dumps  his  load. 

We  reached  town  again,  well  pleased  with  our 
day's  ride,  and  over  our  evening  pipes  discussed  the 
results.  Muggs  thought  our  shot  were  too  small. 
Sachem  thought  the  birds  were. 

Colon  was  delighted  with  the  new  State,  but  be- 
lieved that  wing-shooting  was  not  his  forte.  He 
would  be  more  apt  to  hit  a  bird  on  the  wing  if  he 
could  only  catch  it  roosting  somewhere. 

Gripe,  at  the  other  end  of  the  room,  was  piling  Re- 
publican doctrines  upon  a  bearded  Democratic  heathen 
from  the  Western  border. 


CHAPTER   V. 

A    TRIAL   BY   JUDGE    LYNCH HUNG    FOR   CONTEMPT    OP    COURt~— QUAIL   SHOOTING^ 

HABITS  OF  THE   BIRDS,  AND  MODE    OF    KILLING  THEM — A   RING   OF    QUAILS — TH^ 
EFFECTS    OP    A   SEVERE    WINTER — THE    SNOW    GOOSE. 

A  SHORT  time  after  supper,  Tenacious  Gripe 
appeared  with  the  mayor  of  the  city,  who 
wished  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  Professor. 
The  two  august  personages  bowed  to  each  other.  It 
was  the  happiest  moment  in  their  respective  lives, 
they  declared.  An  invitation  was  extended  us  to 
delay  our  departure  another  da}^  and  try  quail  shoot- 
ing. The  citizens  said  the  birds  were  unusually 
abundant,  the  previous  winter  having  been  mild 
and  the  summer  long  enough  for  two  separate  broods 
to  be  hatched,  and  the  brush  and  river  banks  were 
swarming  with  them.  As  we  were  about  to  abandon 
the  birds  of  the  West  and  seek  an  acquaintance  with 
its  beasts,  we  decided,  after  a  brief  consultation,  to 
accept  the  invitation  and  remain  another  day. 

Among  the  persons  present  in  the  crowded  office 
of  the  hotel,  was  a  man  from  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  state  who  had  lately  been  interested  in  a  trial 
before  the  celebrated  Judge  Lynch.  Sachem  inter- 
viewed him,  and  reports  his  statement  of  the  occur- 
rence in  the  log  book,  as  follows : 

(75) 


76  BUFFALO   LAND. 

A  stranger  played  me  fur  a  fool, 
An^  threw  the  high,  low,  jack, 

An'  sold  me  the  wuss  piece  of  mule 
That  ever  humped  a  back. 

But  that  wer  fair;  I  don't  complain, 

That  I  got  beat  in  trade ; 
I  don't  sour  on  a  fellow's  gain. 

When  sich  is  honest  made. 

But  wust  wer  this,  he  stole  the  mule, 
An'  I  were  bilked  complete ; 

Such  thieves,  we  hossmen  makes  a  rule 
To  lift  'em  from  their  feet. 

We  started  arter  that  'ere  pup, 

An'  took  the  judge  along. 
For  fear,  with  all  our  dander  up, 

We  might  do  somethin'  wrong. 

We  caught  him  under  twenty  miles. 

An  tried  him  under  trees; 
The  judge  he  passed  around  the  '^ smiles," 

As  sort  o' jury  fees. 

^'Pris'ner,"  says  judge,  "now  say  your  say, 
An'  make  it  short  an'  sweet. 

An',  while  yer  at  it,  kneel  and  pray, 
For  Death  yer  can  not  cheat. 

No  man  shall  hang,  by  this  'ere  court, 

Exceptin'  on  the  square ; 
There's  time  fur  speech,  if  so  it's  short, 

But  none  to  chew  or  swear." 


QUAIL-HUNTING  ON  THE  KAW.  79 

An'  then  the  thievin'  rascal  cursed, 

An'  threw  his  life  away, 
He  said,  "  Just  pony  out  your  worst, 

Your  best  would  be  foul  play." 

Then  judge  he  frowned  an  awful  frown, 

An'  snapped  this  sentence  short, 
"  Jones,  twitch  the  rope,  an'  write  this  down, 

Hung  for  contempt  of  court !  " 

Sharp  8  next  morning  saw  us  on  the  road  leading 
east  of  town,  the  two  dogs  with  us,  and  a  young  one 
additional,  the  property  of  a  resident  sportsman. 
Our  last  acquisition  joined  us  on  the  run,  and  kept 
on  it  all  day,  going  over  the  ground  with  the  speed 
of  a  greyhound,  his  fine  nose,  however,  giving  him 
better  success  than  his  reckless  pace  would  have 
indicated. 

Three  miles  from  town,  or  half  way  between  it 
and  Tecumseh,  our  party  left  the  wagon,  with  direc- 
tion for  it  to  follow  the  road,  while  we  scouted  along 
on  a  parallel,  following  the  river  bank. 

The  Kaw  stretched  eastward,  broad  and  shallow, 
with  numerous  sand  bars,  and  along  its  edges  grew 
the  scarlet  sumach  and  some  stunted  bushes,  and 
between  these  and  the'  corn  a  high,  coarse  bottom 
grass,  with  intervals  at  every  hundred  yards  or  so 
apart  of  a  shorter  variety,  like  that  on  a  poor  prairie. 
Among  the  bushes,  there  was  no  grass  whatever, 
and  yet  the  birds  seemed  indifferently  to  frequent 
one  spot  equally  with  another. 

In  less  than  ten  minutes  after  leaving  the  wagon, 
all  the  dogs  were  pointing  on  a  barren  looking  spot, 


80  BUFFALO   LAND. 

thinly  sprinkled  with  scrubby  bushes  not  larger  than 
jimson-weeds.  They  were  several  yards  apart,  so 
that  each  animal  was  clearly  acting  on  his  own 
responsibility. 

If  it  puzzled  us  the  day  before  to  discover  any 
signs  of 'game  under  their  noses,  it  certainly  did  so 
now.  There  was  apparently  no  place  of  concealment 
for  any  object  larger  than  a  field-mouse.  The  bushes 
were  wide  apart,  and  the  soil  between  was  a  loose 
sand.  Around  the  roots  of  the  scrubs,  it  is  true,  a 
few  thin,  wiry  spears  of  grass  struggled  into  existence, 
but  these  covered  a  space  not  larger  than  a  man's 
hand,  and  it  seemed  preposterous  to  imagine  that 
they  could  be  capable  of  affording  cover.  That  three 
dogs  were  pointing  straight  at  three  bushes  was 
apparent,  but  we  could  see  nothing  in  or  about  the 
latter  calling  for  such  attention. 

Sliamus,  who  had  accompanied  us,  wished  to  know 
if  the  twigs  were  witch  hazels,  because,  if  so,  three 
invisible  old  beldames  might  be  taking  a  nap  under 
them,  after  a  midnight  ride.  "But,  then,"  said  Do- 
been,  "the  dog's  hairs  don't  stand  on  end  as  they 
always  do  in  Ireland  w^hen  they  see  ghosts  and 
witches."  We  believe  that  our  worthy  cook  was 
really  disappointed  in  not  discovering  any  stray 
broomsticks  lying  around.  These,  he  afterward  in- 
formed us,  could  not  be  made  invisible,  though  their 
owners  should  take  on  airy  shapes  unrecognizable  by 
mortal  eyes. 

Muggs  had  suggested  urging  the  dogs  in,  but  the 
party,  wiser  from  yesterday's  experience,  desired  a 
ground  shot,  if  it  could  be  secured.     The  Professor 


A  WORSTED   NIMROD.  81 

adjusted  his  lens,  and  decided  to  make  a  personal 
inspection  around  the  roots  of  the  bush  immediately 
in  front  of  him. 

Carefully  the  sage  bent  over  the  suspicious  spot, 
and  almost  fell  backward  as,  with  a  whiz  and  a  dart, 
half  a  dozen  quails  flew  out,  brushing  his  very  nose. 
Instantly  every  bush  sent  forth  its  fugitives.  A  flash 
of  feathered  balls,  and  they  were  all  gone.  Such 
whizzing  and  whirring!  it  was  as  if  those  scraggy 
bushes  were  mitrailleuses,  in  quick  succession  dis- 
charging their  loads.  * 

Only  one  gun  had  gone  off,  but  that  so  loudly  that 
our  ears  rung  for  several  seconds.  Mr.  Colon  had 
accidentally  rammed  at  least  two,  perhaps  half  a 
dozen,  loads  into  one  barrel,  and  the  gun  discharged 
with  an  aim  of  its  own,  the  butt  very  low  down. 
Two  birds  fell  dead.  But  alas  for  our  ISTimrod! 
Colon  stood  with  one  hand  on  his  stomach  undecided 
whether  that  organ  remained  or  not.  On  this  pointy 
however,  he  was  fully  re-assured  at  the  supper-table 
that  night,  and  in  all  our  after  experience,  we  never 
knew  that  gun  to  have  the  least  opportunity  for 
going  ofP,  except  when  at  its  owner's  shoulder,  and  he 
perfectly  ready  for  it. 

The  two  birds  were  now  submitted  to  the  party  for 
inspection.  They  were  fine  specimens  of  the  Ameri- 
can quail,  more  properly  called  by  those  versed  in 
quailology,  the  Bob  White.  This  bird  is  very  plen- 
tiful throughout  Kansas,  and  just  before  the  shoot- 
ing season  commences,  in  September,  will  even  fre- 
quent the  gardens  and  alight  on  the  houses  of  To- 
peka.     They  "lay  close"  before  a  dog,  take  flight 


82  BUFFALO   LAND. 

into  air  with  a  quick,  whirring  dart,  and  their  shoot- 
ing deservedly  ranks  high.  They  are  very  rapid  in 
their  movements  upon  the  ground,  often  running 
fifty  or  seventy-five  yards  before  hiding.  When  this 
takes  place,  so  closely  do  they  huddle  that  it  is  sel- 
dom more  than  the  upper  bird  that  can  be  seen. 
"Green  hunters "  sometimes  pause,  trying  to  discover 
the  rest  of  the  covey  before  firing,  and  experience 
a  great  and  sudden  disgust  when  the  single  bird 
which  they  have  disdained  suddenly,  develops  ^into  a 
dozen  flying  ones. 

We  had  an  eventful  days'  sport,  expending  more 
ammunition  than  when  among  the  chickens,  and  with 
more  satisfactory  results,  as  we  brought  in  over  two 
dozen  birds.  More  than  half  of  these  were  taken  by 
Sachem  at  one  lucky  discharge.  He  saw  a  covey  in 
the  grass,  huddled  together  as  they  generally  are 
when  not  running.  At  these  times  they  form  a  circle 
about  as  large  in  diameter  as  the  hoop  of  a  nail  keg, 
with  tails  to  the  center  and  heads  toward  the  outside. 
Fifteen  quails  would  thus  be  a  circle  of  fifteen  heads, 
and  a  pail,  could  it  be  dropped  over  the  covey, 
would  cover  them  all.  JN'ot  only  is  this  an  economy 
of  warmth,  there  being  no  outsiders  half  of  whose 
bodies  must  get  chilled,  but  there  is  no  blind  side  on 
w^hich  they  can  be  approached,  every  portion  of  the 
circle  having  its  full  quota  of  eyes.  Let  skunk  or 
fox,  or  other  roamer  through  the  grass,  creep  ever  so 
stealthily,  he  will  be  seen  and  avoided  by  flight. 
Sachem  aiming  at  the  midst  of  such  a  ring,  broke  it 
up  as  efi*ectually  as  Boutwell's  discharge  of  bullion 
did  that  on  Wall  Street. 


WE   SEE   SNOW-GEESE.  83 

We  have  since  found  the  frozen  bodies  of  whole 
covies,  which  had  gone  to  roost  in  a  circle  and  been 
buried  under  such  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  that  the 
birds  could  not  force  their  way  upward.  Their  habit 
is  to  remain  in  imprisonment,  apparently  waiting  for 
the  snow  to  melt  before  even  making  an  effort  for 
deliverance.  Oftentimes  it  is  then  too  late,  a  crust 
having  formed  above.  A  severe  winter  will  some- 
times completely  exterminate  the  birds  in  certain  lo- 
calities. 

During  this  first  day  of  quail-shooting,  we  also  saw 
for  the  first  time  flocks  of  the  snow-goose.  The  Pro- 
fessor counted  fifty  birds  on  one  sand  bar.  This 
variety,  in  its  flight  across  the  continent,  apparently 
passes  through  but  a  narrow  belt  of  country,  being 
found,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  in  but  few  of  the 
states  outside  of  Kansas. 

Our  return  to  the  hotel  was  without  accident,  and 
our  supper  such  as  hungry  hunters  might  well  enjoy. 
After  it  was  disposed  of,  we  gathered  around  the 
ample  stove  in  the  hotel  office,  and  lived  over  again 
the  events  of  the  day. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Ol'P  rOR  BUFFALO  LAND — THE  NAVIGATION  OF  THE  KAW— FORT  RILEY — THE  CEN- 
TER-POST OF  THE  UNITED  STATES — OUR  PURCHASE  OF  HORSES — "LO"  AS  a 
SAVAGE  AND  AS  A  CITIZEN — GRIPE  UNFOLDS  THE  INDIAN  QUESTION — A  BALLAD 
BY  SACHEM,  PRESENTING  ANOTHER  VIEW. 

NEXT  morning  we  said  good-by  to  hospitable  To- 
peka,  and  took  up  our  westward  way  over  the 
Pacific  Railroad.  An  ever-repeated  succession  of 
valley  and  prairie  stretched  away  on  either  hand. 
To  the  left  the  Kaw  came  down  with  far  swifter  cur- 
rent than  it  has  in  its  course  below,  from  its  far-away 
source  in  Colorado.  It  might  properly  be  called  one 
of  the  eaves  or  Avater-spouts  of  the  great  Rocky 
Mountain  water-shed.  With  a  pitch  of  over  five 
feet  to  the  mile,  its  pace  is  here  necessarily  a  rapid 
one,  and  when  at  freshet  height  the  stream  is  like  a 
mill-race  for  foam  and  fury. 

At  the  junction  of  the  Big  Blue  we  found  the  old 
yet  pretty  town  of  Manhattan.  To  this  point,  in 
early  times,  water  transit  was  once  attempted.  A 
boat  of  exceedingly  light  draught,  one  of  those  built 
to  run  on  a  heavy  dew,  being  procured,  freight  was 
advertised  for,  and  the  navigation  of  the  Kaw  com- 
menced. The  one  hundred  miles  or  more  to  Man- 
hattan was  accomplished  principally  by  means  of  the 
capstan,  the  boat  being  "  warped  "  over  the  number- 
less shallows.     This  proved  easier,  of  course — a  trifle 

(84) 


A   FUTUKE   rIlLY-POINT.  85 

easier — than  if  she  had  made  the  trip  on  macadamized 
roads.  If  her  stern  had  a  comfortable  depth  of 
water  it  was  seldom  indeed,  except  when  her  bow 
was  in  the  air  in  the  process  of  pulling  the  boat  over 
a  sand  bar.  The  scared  catfish  were  obliged  to  re- 
treat up  stream,  or  hug  close  under  the  banks,  to 
avoid  obstructing  navigation,  and  it  is  even  hinted 
that  more  than  one  patriarch  of  the  finny  tribe  had  to 
be  pried  out  of  the  way  to  make  room  for  his  new 
rival  to  pass. 

Once  at  Manhattan,  the  steamboat  line  was  sus- 
pended for  the  season,  its  captain  and  crew  deciding 
they  would  rather  walk  back  to  the  Missouri  River 
than  drag  the  vessel  there.  Soon  afterward,  the 
steamer  was  burned  at  her  landing,  and  the  Kaw  has 
remained  closed  to  commerce  ever  since. 

About  the  same  time,  an  enterprising  Yankee  ad- 
vocated in  the  papers  the  straightening  of  the  river, 
and  providing  it  with  a  series  of  locks,  making  it  a 
canal.  As  he  had  no  money  of  his  own  with  which 
to  develop  his  ideas  into  results,  and  could  command 
nobody's  else  for  that  purpose,  the  project  failed  in 
its  very  inception. 

Fort  lliley,  four  miles  below  Junction  City,  is 
claimed  as  the  geographical  center  of  the  United 
States,  the  exact  spot  being  marked  by  a  post. 
What  a  rallying  point  that  stick  of  wood  will  be  for 
future  generations !  When  the  corner-stone  of  the 
National  Capitol  shall  there  be  laid,  the  orator  of  the 
day  can  mount  that  post  and  exclaim,  with  eloquent 
significance,  elsewhere  impossible,  "^N'o  north,  no 
south,  no  east,  no  west ! ''  and  enthusiastic  multi- 
5 


86  BUFFALO   LAND. 

tudes,  there  gathered  from  the  four  quarters  of  the 
continent,  will  hail  the  words  as  the  key-note  of  the 
republic. 

That  spot  of  ground  and  that  post  are  valuable. 
I  hope  a  national  subscription  will  be  started  to  buy  it. 
It  is  the  only  place  on  our  continent  which  can  ever 
be  entirely  free  from  local  jealousies.  There  would 
be  no  possible  argument  for  ever  removing  the  capital. 
The  Kaw  could  be  converted  into  a  magnificent  canal, 
winding  among  picturesque  hills  past  the  base  of  the 
Capitol ;  and  then,  in  case  of  war,  should  any  hostile 
fleet  ever  ascend  the  rapid  Missouri,  it  would  be  but 
necessary  for  our  legislators  to  grasp  the  canal  locks, 
and  let  the  water  out,  to  insure  their  perfect  safety. 
Imagine  the  humiliation  of  a  foreign  naval  hero  arriv- 
ing w^ith  his  iron-clads  opposite  a  muddy  ditch,  and 
finding  it  the  only  means  of  access  to  our  capital ! 

A  painful  rumor  has  of  late  obtained  circulation  that 
a  band  of  St.  Louis  ku-klux,  yclept  capital  movers, 
intend  stealing  the  pole  and  obliterating  the  hole. 
Let  us  hope,  however,  that  it  is  without  foundation. 

Before  leaving  Topeka,  the  party  had  purchased 
horses  for  the  trip,  and  consigned  the  precious  load 
to  a  car,  sending  a  note  to  General  Anderson,  super- 
intendent, asking  that  they  might  be  promptly  and 
carefully  forwarded  to  Hays  City,  our  present  ob- 
jective point  upon  the  plains. 

The  professor,  bringing  previous  experience  into 
requisition,  selected  a  stout  mustang — probably  as 
tractable  as  those  brutes  ever  become.  He  was  w^ar- 
ranted  by  the  seller  never  to  tire,  and  he  never  did, 
keeping, the  philosopher  constantly  on  the  alert  to 


IRON   BILLY  AFTER   BUFFALO.  87 

save  neck  and  knees.  It  is  the  simple  truth  that, 
in  all  our  acquaintance  with  him,  that  mustang  never 
appeared  in  the  least  fatigued.  After  backing  and 
shying  all  day,  he  would  spend  the  night  in  kicking 
and  stealing  from  the  other  horses. 

Mr.  Colon,  by  rare  good  fortune,  obtained  a  beau- 
tiful animal,  formerly  known  in  Leavenworth  as  Iron 
Billy — a  dark  bay,  with  head  and  hair  fine  as  a 
pointer's,  limbs  cut  sharp,  and  joints  of  elastic. 
After  carrying  Mr.  C.  bravely  for  months,  never 
tripping  or  failing,  he  was  sold  on  our  return  to  the 
then  Secretary  of  State,  who  still  owns  him.  More 
than  once  did  Billy  make  his  rider's  arm  ache  from 
pulling  at  the  curb,  when  the  other  horses  were  all 
knocked  up  by  the  rough  day's  riding.  It  was  in- 
teresting to  see  him  in  pursuit  of  buffalo.  He  would 
often  smell  them  when  they  were  hidden  in  ravines, 
and  we  wholly  unaware  of  their  vicinity.  Head  and 
ears  were  erect  in  an  instant,  and,  with  nostrils  ex- 
panded, forward  he  went,  keeping  eagerly  in  front  at 
a  peculiar  prancing  step  which  we  called  tiptoeing. 
Once  in  sight  of  the  game,  and  the  rider  became  a 
person  of  quite  secondary  importance.  Billy  said,  as 
plainly  as  a  horse  could  say  any  thing,  •'/  am  going 
to  manage  this  thing ;  you  stick  on."  And  manage 
it  he  did.  ]N"ot  many  moments,  at  the  most,  before 
he  was  at  the  quarters  of  the  fleeing  monsters,  and 
nipping  them  mischievously  with  his  teeth.  I  could 
always  inmgine  him  giving  a  downright  horse-laugh, 
his  big  bright  eyes  sparkled  so  when  the  frightened 
bison,  at  the  touch,  gave  a  switch  of  his  tail  and  a 
swerve  of  alarm,  and  plunged  more  wildly  forward. 


88 


BUFFALO   LAND. 


If  the  rider  wished  to  shoot,  he  could  do  so;  if  not, 
content  himself,  as  Mr.  Colon  usually  did,  with  cling- 
ing to  the  saddle,  and  uttering  numberless  expostu- 
latory  but  fruitless  "  whoa's." 

Once  on  our  trip  Billy  was  loaned  for  the  day  to  a 
gentleman  who  wished  to  examine  a  prospective  coal 
mine.  When  barely  out  of  sight  of  camp,  Billy  dis- 
covered a  herd  of  buffalo,  and,  despite  the  vehement 
remonstrances  of  his  rider,  straightway  charged  it. 
The  mine-seeker  was  no  hunter,  but  a  wise  and  thor- 
oughly timid  devotee  of  science  in  search  of  coal 
measures.  A  few  moments,  and  the  poor,  frightened 
gentleman  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  surging 
mass  of  buffalo,  his  knees  brushing  their  hairy  sides, 
and  their  black  horns  glittering  close  around  him, 
like  an  array  of  serried  spears.  He  drew  his  knees 
into  the  saddle,  and  there,  clinging  like  a  monkey, 
lost  his  hat,  his  map  of  the  mine,  and  his  spectacles. 
He  returned  Billy  as  soon  as  he  could  get  him  back 
to  camp,  with  expressions  of  gratitude  that  he  had 
been  allowed  to  escape  with  life,  and  never  mani- 
fested the  least  desire  to  mount  him  again. 

Sachem's  purchase  was  a  horse  which  had  run 
unaccountably  to  legs.  He  was  sixteen  hands  high, 
a  trifle  knock-kneed,  and  with  a  way  of  flinging  the 
limbs  out  when  put  to  his  speed  which,  though  it 
seemed  awkward  enough,  yet  got  over  the  ground 
remarkably  well.  With  the  shambling  gait  of  a 
camel,  he  had  also  the  good  qualities  of  one,  and  did 
his  owner  honest  service. 

Muggs  bought  a  mule,  partly,  because  advised  to 
do  so  by  a  plainsman,  and  partly  because  the  rest  of 


A   SOLID   BEAST.  89 

US  took  horses.  With  true  British  obstinacy  he  paid 
no  attention  to  our  expostulations,  and  the  creature 
he  obtained  was  as  obstinate  as  himself.  Poor 
Muggs  !  A  mule  may  be  good  property  in  the  hands 
of  a  plainsman,  but  was  llever  intended  to  carry  a 
Briton. 

Semi-Colon  had  the  auction  purchase,  and  Dobeen 
selected  a  Mexican  donkey,  one  of  the  toughest  little 
animals  that  ever  pulled  a  bit.  He  could  excel  a 
trained  mule  in  the  feat  of  dislodging  his  rider,  and 
had  a  remarkable  penchant  for  running  over  persons 
who  by  chance  might  be  looking  the  other  way.  It 
seemed  to  be  his  constant  study  to  take  unexpected 
positions,  or,  as  Sachem  phrased  it,  to  "  strike  an 
attitude." 

My  mount  was  a  stout-built  old  mare,  recommended 
to  me  as  a  solid  beast,  on  the  strength  of  which,  and 
wishing  to  avoid  experiments,  I  made  purchase  at 
once.  I  found  her  solid  indeed.  When  on  the  gallop 
her  feet  came  down  with  a  shock  which  made  my 
head  vibrate,  as  if  I  had  accidentally  taken  two  steps 
instead  of  one,  in  descending  a  staircase. 

Could  the  good  people  of  Topeka  have  gotten  us 
to  ride  out  of  their  town  upon  our  several  animals, 
it  would  have  given  them  a  fair  idea  of  a  mardi  gras 
cavalcade  in  New  Orleans. 

And  so,  our  camp  equipage  and  live  stock  follow- 
ing by  freight,  the  express  rolled  us  forward  toward 
the  great  plains.  So  far  along  our  route  we  had  seen 
but  few  Indians,  and  those  civilized  specimens,  such 
as  straggle  occasionally  through  the  streets  of  Topeka. 
The  Indian  reservations  in  Kansas  are  at  some  dis- 


90  BUFFALO   LAND. 

tance  apart,  and  their  inhabitants  frequently  ex- 
change visits.  The  few  whom  we  had  seen  consisted 
of  Osages,  Kaws,  Pottawatomies,  and  Sioux,  all 
equally  dirty,  but  the  last  affecting  clothes  more  than 
the  others,  and  eschewing  paint.  The  members  of 
this  tribe,  generally  S23eaking,  have  good  farms  and 
are  worth  a  handsome  average  per  head.  At  the 
time  of  our  visit  they  were  expecting  a  half  million 
dollars  or  so  from  Washington,  and  were  soon  to  be- 
come American  citizens.  One  privilege  of  this  cit- 
izenship struck  us  as  very  peculiar.  By  the  State 
law,  as  long  as  an  Indian  is  simply  an  Indian,  he 
can  buy  no  whisky,  and  is  thus  cruelly  debarred 
from  the  privilege  of  getting  drunk,  but  once  a  voter, 
he  can  luxuriate  in  corn-juice  and  the  calaboose,  as 
well  as  his  white  brother.  What  a  travesty  upon 
American  civilization  and  politics ! 

Muggs  was  prejudiced  against  the  Osages,  having 
been  induced  by  one  of  them  to  invest  in  a  bow  and 
arrows,  "for  the  Hinglish  Museum,  you  know."  On 
pulling  for  a  trial  shot,  one  end  of  the  bow  went 
further  than  the  arrow,  and  the  cord,  warranted  to 
be  buffalo  sinew,  proved  to  be  an  oiled  string. 

Sachem  declared  that  he  had  found  Muggs  return- 
ing the  wreck  to  the  Indian  with  the  following  speech: 
"0-sage,  little  was  your  wisdom  to  court  thus  the 
wrath  of  a  Briton.  Take  with  the  two  pieces  this 
piece  of  my  mind.  That  your  noble  form  may  be  re- 
moved soon  to  the  'appy  'unting  ground,  where  bow 
trades  are  not  allowed,  is  the  prayer  of  your  patron, 
Muggs." 

Mr.  Colon  asked  Tenacious  Gripe  to  explain  the 


DIVERSE  APPLICATION  OF  SIMILAR  PRINCIPLES.  93 

condition  of  the  Native  Americans  in  Kansas.  The 
orator  kindly  consented  and  thereupon  discoursed  as 
follows : 

"  The  Indians  of  Kansas  are  divided  into  the  wild 
and  the  tame.  Both  alike  cover  their  nakedness 
with  bright  handkerchiefs,  old  shirts,  military  coats, 
and  many-hued  ribbons.  The  principal  difference 
in  point  of  dress  is  in  the  method  of  procuring  it. 
Among  those  tribes  which  are  at  peace  with  the 
government,  the  white  man  robs  the  Indian ;  among 
the  wild  tribes  the  conditions  are  reversed — the 
Indian  robs  the  white  man.  In  the  one  case  the 
.contractors  and  agents  carry  off  their  half  million 
dollars  or  thereabouts ;  in  the  other  the  savage  bears 
away  a  quantity  of  old  clothes  and  fresh  scalps.  As 
he  finds  it  difficult  to  procure  sufficient  of  the  white 
man's  justice  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  his  nature, 
he  feeds  it  with  what  he  can  and  whenever  he  can 
of  revenge.  Wise  men  tell  us,  gentlemen,  that  re- 
venge is  sweet  and  justice  a  dry  morsel.  All  Indians 
beg  when  they  get  an  opportunity.  The  tame  ones, 
if  they  find  it  fruitless,  divert  themselves  by  selling 
worthless  pieces  of  wood  with  strings  attached,  as 
bow^s.  The  wild  ones,  in  a  like  predicament,  relieve 
their,  tedium  by  whacking  away  at  our  ribs  with 
bows  that  amount  to  something.  The  principles 
actuating  both  classes  are  alike.  It  is  simply  the 
application  which  causes  difficulty — in  the  one  case 
an  appeal  with  bow  and  arrows  to  our  pockets,  in 
the  other  to  our  bodies. 

"All  our  wars  with  these  people,  gentlemen,  are  a 
result  of  their  political  economy.     They  believe  that 


94  V  BUFFALO   LAND.     ^ 

the  Great  Spirit  provided  buffalo  and  other  game 
for  his  red  children.  When  the  white  man  drives 
these  away,  they  understand  that  he  takes  their  place 
as  a  means  of  sustenance,  and  as  they  have  lived 
upon  the  one,  so  they  intend  to  do  upon  the  other. 
If  the  buffalo  attempts  to  evade  his  duty  in  the  prem- 
ises, they  kill  him  and  take  his  meat ;  if  the  white 
man,  they  kill  him  and  take  his  hair." 

Sachem  produced  a  roll  of  dirty  brown  paper  and 
said  that  he  had  studied  the  Indian  question  and 
found  two  sides  to  it.  One  he  could  give  us  in  a  nut- 
shell, believing  that  the  meat  of  the  nut  had  often 
excited  the  spirit  of  war. 

Where  waters  sung  above  the  sand, 

And  torrent  forced  its  way, 
Stretched  out,  disgusted  with  the  land, 

A  bearded  miner  lay, 
Prepared  to  strike,  with  willing  hand. 

Whatever  lead  would  pay. 

Echo  of  hoof  on  beaten  ground 

Rung  on  the  desert  air, 
Ringing  a  tune  of  gladsome  sound 

To  miner,  watching  there ; 
A  paying  lead,  at  last,  he  M  found— 

The  vein  a  "  man  of  hair." 

An  instant  more,  and  at  the  ford 

A  savage  chief  appeared ; 
The  miner  saw  his  goodly  hoard, 

And  tore  his  own  good  beard. 
(You  '11  always  find  an  ox  is  gored 

When  sheep  are  to  be  sheared.) 


illli 

i 

:l^^BHHi^^fTHj''i;  'l>«  i"-*     k     ' 

■IP' 

!i 

i 

-. 

^^^■_ 

^ 

n 

mk. 

'     -    ^'^ftiHill 

sachem's  ballad.  97 

And  these  the  words  the  miner  said  :  ^ 

"  YouVe  spoilt  my  drink,  old  fellow; 

You  've  riled  the  brook,  my  brother  red, 
And,  by  your  cheek  so  yellow, 

To-night  above  your  sandy  bed 
The  prairie  gale  shall  bellow, 

**  No  relatives  of  mine  are  dead, 

At  least  by  Injun  cunnin', 
But  many  other  hearts  have  bled,  — 

And  many  eyes  are  runnin' ; 
For  blood  and  tears  alike  are  shed, 

When  you  go  out  a  gunnin'. 
• 

"  Some  slumbrin'  peaceful,  first  they  knew, 

They  heard  your  horrid  din — 
Women  as  well  as  men  you  slew, 

You  bloody  son  of  sin  ; 
I  mourn  'em  all,  revenge  'em  too, 

Through  Adam  they  were  kin/' 

This  having  said,  the  miner  smart, 

Drew  bead  upon  the  red  man : 
They're  fond  of  beads — it  touched  his  heart, 

And  Lo,  behold,  a  dead  man ; 
Upon  Life's  stage  he'd  played  his  part, 

A  gory  sort  of  head  man  ! 

Two  packs  of  goods  lay  on  the  ground ; 

Quoth  miner,  "  Lawful  spoil ! 
My  lucky  star  at  last  has  found 

As  good  as  gold  and  oil ; 
I  kinder  felt  that  fate  was  bound 

To  bless^y  honest  toil. 


98 


BUFFALO   LAND. 

"  Such  heathen  have  no  lawful  heirs — 
I  '11  be  the  Probate  Judge, 

J^W  though  they  kinder  go  in  pairs, 
Their  love  is  all  a  fudge ; 

I'll  'ministrateon  what  he  wears,         / 
And  leave  his  squaw  my  grudge,'' 


CHAPTER    VII. 

BBIPS'S   VIEWS    OF    INDIAN    CHARACTER — THE     DBLAWARES'    THE    ISHMABllTES    OF 

THE  PLAINS THE   TERRITORY    OF    THE    "LONG    HORNS " TBXANS    AND    THEIR 

CHARACTERISTICS — MUSHROOM    ROCK — A  VALUABLE  DISCOVERY — FOOTPRINTS  IN 
THE   ROCK — THE    PRIMEVAL    PAUL    AND    VIRGINIA. 

WE  noticed  many  fine  rivers  rolling  from  the 
northward  into  the  Kaw,  which  stream  we 
found  was  known  by  that  name  only  after  receiving 
the  Republican,  at  Junction  City.  Above  that  point, 
under  the  name  of  the  Smoky  Hill,  it  stretches  far 
out  across  the  plains,  and  into  the  eastern  portion 
of  Colorado.  Along  its  desolate  banks  we  afterward 
saw  the  sun  rise  and  set  upon  many  a  weary  and 
many  a  gorgeous  day. 

All  the  large  tributaries  of  the  Kansas  river,  con- 
sisting of  the  Big  Blue,  Republican,  Solomon,  and 
Saline,  came  in  on  our  right.  Upon  our  left,  toward 
the  South,  only  small  creeks  joined  waters  with  the 
Kaw,  the  pitch  of  the  great  "divides"  there  being 
towards  the  Arkansas  and  its  feeders,  the  Cotton- 
wood and  JS'eosho. 

We  had  now  fairly  entered  on  the  great  Smoky 
Hill  trail.  Here  Fremont  marked  out  his  path  to- 
wards the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific,  and  on 
many  of  the  high  huttes  we  discovered  the  pillars  of 

(99) 


100  BUFFALO    LAND. 

stone  which  he  had  set  up  as  guides  for  emigrant 
trains,  looking  wonderfully  like  sentinels  standing 
guard  over  the  valleys  beneath.  Indeed  we  did  at 
first  take  them  for  solitary  herders,  watching  their 
cattle  in  some  choice  pasture  out  of  sight. 

Most  of  our  party  had  expected  to  find  Indians 
in  promiscuous  abundance  over  the  entire  State, 
and  we  were  therefore  surprised  to  see  the  country, 
after  passing  St.  Mary's  Mission,  entirely  free  of 
them.  Muggs  asked  Gripe  if  the  American  Indian 
was  hostile  to  all  nationalities  alike,  or  simply  to 
those  who  robbed  him  of  his  hunting-grounds.  The 
orator  replied  as  follows: 

"Sir,  the  aborigine  of  the  western  plains  cares 
not  what  color  or  flavor  the  fruit  possesses  which 
hangs  from  his  roof  tree.  The  cue  of  the  Chinaman 
is  equally  as  acceptable  as  hairs  from  the  mane  of 
the  English  lion.  A  red  lock  is  as  welcome  as  a 
black  one,  and  disputes  as  to  ownership  usually 
result  in  a  dead-lock.  His  abhorrence  is  a  wig,  which 
he  considers  a  contrivance  of  the  devil  to  cheat  honest 
Indian  industry.  I  would  advise  geologists  on  the 
plains  to  carry,  along  with  their  picks  for  breaking 
stones,  a  bottle  of  patent  hair  restorative.  It  is 
handy  to  have  in  one's  pocket  when  his  scalp  is  far 
on  its  way  towards  some  Cheyenne  war-pole.  The 
scalping  process,  gentlemen,  is  the  way  in  which 
savages  levy  and  collect  their  poll-tax.  Any  person 
in  search  of  romantic  wigwams  can  have  his  wig 
warmed  very  thoroughly  on  the  Arkansas  or  Texas 
borders.  On  the  plains  along  the  western  border  of 
Kansas,  however,  geologists  can  find  a  rich  and  com- 


THE   INDIAN   ISHMAEL.  101 

paratively  safe  field  for  exploration.  It  is  doubtful 
if  the  savages  ever  wander  there  again. 

"Of  the  Indian  warrior  on  the  plains  we  may  well 
say,  requiescat  in  j)ace,  and  may  his  pace  be  rapid 
towards  either  civilization  or  the  happy  hunting 
ground.  History  shows  that  his  reaching  the  first 
has  generally  given  him  quick  transit  to  the  second. 
The  white  man^s  country  has  proved  a  spirit-land  to 
Lo,  whose  noble  soul  seems  to  sink  when  the  scalp- 
ing-knife  gathers  any  other  rust  than  that  of  blood, 
and  whose  prophetic  spirit  takes  flight  at  the  pros- 
pect of  exchanging  boiled  puppies  and  dirt  for  the 
white  brother's  pork  and  beans.  Very  often,  how- 
ever, it  must  be  said,  Lo's  soul  is  gathered  to  his 
fathers  by  reason  of  its  tabernacle  being  smitten  too 
sorely  by  corn  lightning." 

As  Gripe  paused,  the  Professor  took  up  the  sub- 
ject in  a  somewhat  different  strain : 

"We  have  here  in  this  State,"  remarked  he,  "a 
tribe  which  may  well  be  called  the  Indian  Ishmael. 
Its  hand  is  and  ever  has  been,  since  history  took 
record  of  it,  against  its  brethren,  and  its  brethren's 
against  it.  I  refer  to  the  pitiful  remnant  of  the  once 
great  Delawares.  From  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic 
they  have  steadily  retreated  before  civilization, 
marking  their  path  westward  by  constant  conflicts 
with  other  races  of  red  men.  The  nation  in  its 
eastern  forests  once  numbered  thousands  of  warriors. 
Now,  three  hundred  miserable  survivors  are  hasten- 
ing to  extinction  by  way  of  their  Kansas  reservation. 

"  A  number  of  their  best  warriors  have  been  em- 
ployed as  scouts  by  the  government,  when  administer- 


102  BUFFALO   LAND. 

ing  well  merited  chastisement  to  other  murdering 
bands.  The  Delawares,  I  have  often  thought,  are 
like  blood-hounds  on  the  track  of  the  savages  of  the 
plains.  They  take  fierce  delight  in  scanning  the 
ground  for  trails  and  the  lines  of  the  streams  for 
camps.  There  is  something  strangely  unnatural  in 
the  wild  eyes  of  these  Ishmaelites,  as  they  lead  the 
destroyers  against  their  race,  and  assist  in  blotting 
it  from  the  face  of  the  continent.  Themselves  so 
nearly  joined  to  the  nations  known  only  in  history,  it 
is  like  a  plague-stricken  man  pressing  eagerly  for- 
ward to  carry  the  curse,  before  he  dies,  to  the  re- 
mainder of  his  people." 

The  valleys  of  the  Saline,  Solomon,  and  Smoky 
Hill,  as  we  passed  them  in  rapid  succession,  seemed 
very  rich  and  were  already  thickly  dotted  with  houses. 
This  is  one  of  the  best  cattle  regions  of  the  state, 
and  vast  herds  of  the  long-horned  Texan  breed  cov- 
ered the  prairies.  We  were  informed  that  they  often 
graze  throughout  the  entire  winter.  As  early  in 
the  spring  as  the  grass  starts  sufficiently  along  the 
trail  from  Texas  to  Kansas,  the  stock  dealers  of  the 
former  State  commence  moving  their  immense  herds 
over  it.  The  cattle  are  driven  slowly  forward,  feed- 
ing as  they  come,  and  reach  the  vicinity  of  the  Kansas 
railroads  when  the  grass  is  in  good  condition  for  their 
Bummer  fattening.  As  many  as  five  hundred  thou- 
sand head  of  these  long  horns  have  been  brought  into 
the  State  in  a  single  season.  Some  are  sold  on  arrival 
and  others  kept  until  fall,  when  the  choicest  beeves 
are  shipped  East  for  packing  purposes,  or  into  Illinois 
for  corn  feeding.     The  latter  is  the  case  when  they 


THE  GENUS  TEXAN.  103 

are  destined  eventually  for  consumption  in  Eastern 
markets,  grass-fed  beef  lacking  the  solid  fatness  of 
the  corn-fed,  and  suffering  more  by  long  trans- 
portation. 

This  very  important  trade  in  cattle,  when  fully  de- 
veloped, will  probably  be  about  equally  divided  be- 
tween southern  and  central  Kansas,  each  of  which 
possesses  its  peculiar  advantages  for  the  business. 
While  the  valley  of  the  Arkansas  has  longer  grass, 
and  more  of  it,  the  dealers  in  the  Kaw  region  claim 
that  their  "feed"  is  the  most  nutritious.  My  own 
opinion,  carefully  formed,  is  that  both  sections  are 
about  equally  good,  and  that  the  whole  of  western 
Kansas,  with  Colorado,  will  yet  become  the  greatest 
stock-raising  region  of  the  world.  The  climate  is  pecu- 
liarly favorable.  Two  seasons  out  of  three,  on  an 
average,  cattle  and  sheep  can  graze  during  the  winter, 
without  any  other  cover  than  that  of  the  ravines  and 
the  timber  along  the  creeks. 

The  herders  who  manage  these  large  bodies  of  cat- 
tle are  a  distinctive  and  peculiar  class.  We  saw 
numbers  of  them  scurrying  along  over  the  country 
on  their  wild,  lean  mustangs,  in  appearance  a  species 
of  centaur,  half  horse,  half  man,  with  immense  rat- 
tling spurs,  tanned  skin,  and  dare-devil,  almost  fero- 
cious faces.  After  an  extensive  acquaintance  with 
the  genus  Texan,  and  with  all  due  allowance  for  the 
better  portion  of  it,  I  must  say,  as  my  deliberate 
judgment,  that  it  embraces  a  larger  number  of  mur- 
derers and  desperadoes  than  can  be  found  elsewhere 
in  any  civilized  nation.  A  majority  of  these  herders 
would  think  no  more  of  snuffing  out  a  life  than  of 


104  BUFFALO   LAND. 

snuffing  out  a  candle.  Texas,  in  her  rude  solitude, 
formerly  stretched  protecting  arms  to  the  evil  doers 
from  other  states,  and  to  her  these  classes  flocked. 
She  offered  them  not  a  city  but  a  whole  empire  of 
refuge. 

Just  beyond  Brookville,  two  hundred  miles  from 
the  eastern  border  of  Kansas,  our  road  commenced 
ascending  the  Harker  Bluffs,  a  series  of  sandstone 
ridges  bordering  on  the  plains. 

On  our  left.  Mushroom  Rock  was  pointed  out  to 
us,  a  huge  table  of  stone  poised  on  a  solitary  pillar, 
and  strangely  resembling  the  plant  from  which  it 
is  named.  As  the  professor  informed  us,  we  were 
on  the  eastern  shore  of  a  once  vast  inland  ocean, 
the  bed  of  which  now  forms  the  plains.  Sachem 
thought  the  rock  might  be  a  petrified  toad-stool,  on 
a  scale  with  the  gigantic  toads  which  hopped  around 
in  the  mud  of  that  age  of  monsters.  The  professor 
thought  it  was  fashioned  by  the  waters,  in  their 
eddyings  and  washings. 

Subsequent  examinations  showed  this  entire  region 
to  be  one  of  remarkable  interest  to  the  geologist. 
A  few  miles  east  of  Mushroom  Rock,  near  Bavaria, 
as  we  learned  from  the  conductor,  human  foot-prints 
had  been  discovered  in  the  sandstone.  The  pro- 
fessor, who  had  long  ascribed  to  man  an  earlier  ex- 
istence upon  earth  than  that  given  him  by  geology, 
was  greatly  excited,  and  at  his  earnest  request,  when 
the  down  train  was  met,  we  returned  upon  it  to  Ba- 
varia. 

That  place  we  found  to  consist  of  two  buildings, 
each  serving  the  double  purpose  of  house  and  store, 


MUSHROOM  ROCK, 
On  Alum  Creek,  near  Kansas  Pacific  R.  R. — From  a  Photograph, 


INDIAN  ROCK,  on  Smoky  Hill  River,  Kansas— From  a  Photograph. 


MUMMIES   MADE    MODERN.  107 

the  track  running  between  them.  Two  sandstone 
blocks,  each  weighing  several  hundred  pounds,  lay 
in  front  of  one  of  the  stores,  and  there,  sure  enough, 
impressed  clearly  and  deeply  upon  their  surface  were 
the  tracks  of  human  feet.  They  had  been  discovered 
by  a  Mr.  J.  B.  Hamilton  on  the  adjacent  bluffs. 

There  was  something  weird  and  startling  in  tliis 
voice  from  those  long-forgotten  ages — ages  no  less 
remote  than  when  the  ridge  we  were  standing  upon 
■was  a  portion  of  a  lake  shore.  The  man  who  trpd 
those  sands,  the  professor  informed  us,  perished  from 
the  face  of  the  earth  countless  ages  before  the  oldest 
mummy  was  laid  away  in  the  caves  of  Egypt ;  and 
yet  people  looked  at  the  shriveled  Egyptian,  and 
thought  that  they  were  holding  converse  with  one  who 
lived  close  upon  the  time  of  the  oldest  inhabitant. 
They  wrested  secrets  from  his  tomb,  and  called  them 
very  ancient.  And  now  this  dweller  beside  the  great 
lakes  had  lifted  his  feet  out  of  the  sand  to  kick  the 
mummy  from  his  pedestal  of  honor  in  the  museum,  as 
but  a  being  of  yesterday,  in  comparison  with  himself. 

This  discovery  was  soon  afterward  extensively 
noticed  in  the  newspapers,  and  the  specimens  are 
now  in  the  collection  made  by  our  party  at  Topeka. 
It  is  but  fair  to  say  that  a  diiference  of  opinion  exists 
in  regard  to  these  imprints.  Many  scientific  men, 
among  whom  is  Professor  Cope,  affirm  that  they 
must  be  the  work  of  Intlians  long  ago,  as  the  age 
of  the  rock  puts  it  beyond  the  era  of  man,  while 
others  attribute  them  to  some  low^er  order  of  animal, 
with  a  foot  resembling  the  human  one.  For  my  own 
part,  after  careful  examination,  I  accept  our  profes- 
6 


108  BUFFALO   LAND. 

sor's  theory,  that  the  imprints  are  those  of  human 
feet.  The  surface  of  the  stone  has  been  decided  by 
experts  to  be  bent  down,  not  chiseled  out.  Science 
not  long  ago  ridiculed  the  primitive  man,  which  it 
now  accepts.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that 
science  should  protest  against  its  oldest  inhabitant 
stepping  out  from  ages  in  which  it  had  hitherto  for 
bidden  him  existence. 

We  also  found  on  the  rocks  fine  impressions  of 
leaves,  resembling  those  of  the  magnolia,  and  gathered 
a  bushel  of  petrified  walnuts  and  butternuts.  There 
were  no  other  indications  whatever  of  trees,  the 
whole  country,  as  far  as  we  could  see,  being  a  deso- 
late prairie. 

''  Gentlemen,"  said  the  professor,  "  as  surely  as  you 
stand  on  the  shore  of  a  great  lake,  which  passed 
away  in  comparatively  modern  times,  science  stands 
on  the  brink  of  important  revelations.  We  have 
here  the  evidence  of  the  rocks  that  man  existed  on 
this  earth  when  the  vast  level  upon  which  you  are 
about  to  enter  was  covered  by  its  mass  of  water. 
The  waves  lapped  against  the  Rocky  Mountains  on 
the  west,  and  against  the  ridges  on  which  you  are 
standing,  upon  the  east.  From  previous  explorations, 
I  can  assure  you  that  the  bufi'alo  now  feed  over  a  sur- 
face strewn  with  the  remains  of  those  monsters 
which  inhabited  the  waters  of  the  primitive  world, 
and  the  grasses  suck  nutriment  from  the  shells  of 
centuries.  Geology  has  held  that  man  did  not  exist 
during  the  time  of  the  great  lakes.  I  assert  that  he 
did,  gentlemen,  and  now  an  inhabitant  of  that  period 
steps  forward  to  confirm  my  position.      This  man 


PRIMITIVE   LOVERS.  109 

walked  barefooted,  and  yet  the  contour  of  one  of 
the  feet,  so  different  in  shape  from  that  of  any  wild 
people's  of  the  present  day,  shows  that  it  had  been 
confined  by  some  stiff  material,  like  our  leather  shoes. 
The  appearance  of  the  big  toe  is  especially  confirma- 
tory of  this.  I  would  call  your  attention,  gentlemen, 
to  the  block  which  contains  companion  impressions 
of  the  right  and  left  foot.  The  latter  is  deep,  and 
well  defined,  every  toe  being  separate  and  perfect. 
The  former  is  shallow,  and  spread  out,  with  bulged- 
up  ridges  of  stone  between  each  toe.  These  are  ex- 
actly the  impressions  your  own  feet  would  make,  on 
such  a  shore  to-day,  were  the  sand  under  the  right 
one  to  be  of  such  a  yielding  nature  that  in  moving 
you  withdrew  it  quickly,  and  rested  more  heavily  on 
the  other,  the  material  under  which  was  firmer. 
Your  right  track  would  spread,  the  mud  bulging  up 
between  the  toes,  and  forcing  them  out  of  position, 
and  the  material  nearly  regaining  its  level,  with  a 
misshapen  impression  upon  its  surface. 

*'  You  will  also  perceive  that  the  sand  was  already 
hardening  into  rock  when  our  ancient  friends  walked 
over  it.  I  use  the  plural  because,  if  I  may  venture 
an  opinion  from  this  hasty  examination,  I  should  say 
the  two  tracks  were  those  of  a  female,  the  single  one 
that  of  a  man.  From  the  position  of  the  blocks  they 
'were  probably  walking  near  each  other  at  that  pre- 
cise time  when  the  new  rock  was  soft  enough  to  re- 
ceive an  impression  and  hard  enough  to  retain  it. 
You  will  perceive  that  the  surface  of  the  stone  is  bent 
down  into  the  cavities,  as  that  of  a  loaf  of  half-raised 
bread  would  be  should  you  press  your  hand  into  it." 


110  BUFFALO   LAND. 

Sachem  thought  that  the  couple  might  have  been 
an  ancient  Paul  and  Virginia  telling  their  love  on  the 
shores  of  the  old-time  lake. 

The  Professor  continued :  "  You  notice  close  beside 
the  two  imprints  an  oval,  rather  deep  hole  in  the 
rock,  precisely  like  that  a  boy  often  makes  by  whirl- 
ing on  one  heel  in  the  sand." 

Sachem  again  interrupted :  "  Perhaps  the  maiden 
>vent  through  the  fascinating  evolution  of  revolving 
her  body  while  her  mind  revolved  the  *  yes  '  or  '  no ' 
to  her  swain's  question.  It  might  be  a  refined  way 
of  telling  her  lover  that  she  was  well  *  heeled,'  and 
asking  if  he  was." 

The  Professor  very  gravely  replied:  "In  those 
days  the  world  had  not  run  to  slang.  If  one  of  Hi^o- 
all's  children  had  dared  to  address  him  with  the 
modern  salutation  of  'governor,'  the  venerable  patri- 
arch would  have  flung  his  child  overboard  from  the 
ark.  Taking  your  view  of  the  case,  Mr.  Sachem,  the 
whirl  in  the  sand,  which  gave  the  lover  his  answer, 
is  telling  us  to-day  that  same  old  story.  And  the 
coquette  of  that  remote  period  caused  the  tell-tale 
walk  ujDon  the  sand,  which  has  proved  the  greatest 
geological  discovery  of  modern  times.  I  believe  that 
it  will  be  followed  up  and  sustained  by  others  equally 
as  important,  all  tending  to  date  man's  birth  thou- 
sands of  years  anterior  to  the  time  geology  has  hith- 
erto assigned  him  an  existence  upon  earth." 

We  spent  many  hours  of  the  night  in  getting  the 
rocks  to  the  depot  for  shipment  to  Topeka,  the  few 
inhabitants  of  Bavaria  assisting  us.     Soon  after  a 


GEOLOGICAL   CHANGES.  Ill 

westward  train  came  along,  and  we  were  again  in 
motion  toward  the  home  of  the  buffalo. 

Before  we  slept  the  Professor  gave  us  the  following 
information:  The  vast  plateau  lying  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  which  we  were  now  approaching,  was 
once  covered  by  a  series  of  great  fresh-water  lakes. 
At  an  early  period  these  must  have  been  connected 
with  the  sea,  their  waters  then  being  quite  salty, 
as  is  abundantly  demonstrated  by  the  remains  of 
marine  shells.  During  the  time  of  the  continental 
elevation  these  lakes  were  raised  above  the  sea  level, 
and  their  size  very  much  diminished.  Over  the  new 
land  thus  created,  and  surrounding  these  beautiful 
sheets  of  water,  spread  a  vegetation  at  once  so  beau- 
tiful and  so  rich  in  growth  that  earth  has  now  abso 
lutely  nothing  with  which  to  compare  it.  Amid  these 
lovely  pastures  roved  large  herds  of  elephants,  with 
the  mastodon,  rhinoceros,  horse,  and  elk,  while  the 
streams  and  lakes  abounded  with  fish.  But  the 
drainage  toward  the  distant  ocean  continued,  the 
water  area  diminished,  the  hot  winds  of  the  dry  land 
drank  up  what  remained  of  the  lakes,  and,  in  process 
of  time,  lo!  the  great  grass-covered  plains  that  we 
wander  over  delightedly  to-day.  What  folly  to  sup- 
pose that  such  a  land,  so  peculiarly  fitted  for  man's 
enjoyment,  should  remain,  through  a  long  period  of 
time,  tenanted  simply  by  brutes,  and  be  given  up  to 
the  human  race  only  after  its  delightful  character- 
istics had  been  entirely  removed. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THK  '  GREAT  AMERICAN  DESERT  " — ITS  FOSSIL  WEALTH — AN  ILLUSION  DISPELLED — 
FIRES  ACCORDING  TO  NOVELS  AND  ACCORDING  TO  FACT — SENSATIONAL  HEROES 
AND  HEROINES — PRAIRIE  DOGS  AND  THEIR  HABITS — HAWK  AND  DOG  AND  HAWK 
AND    CAT. 

NEXT  morning,  as  the  first  gray  darts  of  dawn 
fell  against  our  windows,  Mr.  Colon  lifted  up  a 
sleepy  head  and  gazed  out.  Then  came  that  quick 
jerk  into  an  upright  position  which  one  assumes  wheu 
startled  suddenly  from  a  drowsy  state  to  one  of  in- 
tense interest.  The  motion  caused  a  similar  one  on 
the  part  of  each  of  us,  as  if  a  sort  of  jumping- 
jack  set  of  string  nerves  ran  up  our  backs,  and  a  man 
under  the  cars  had  pulled  them  all  simultaneously. 

We  were  on  the  great  earth-ocean ;  upon  either 
side,  until  striking  against  the  shores  of  the  horizon, 
the  billows  of  buffalo-grass  rolled  away.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  Mighty  Ruler  had  looked  upon  these  waters 
when  the  world  was  young,  and  said  to  them,  "Ye 
weaves,  teeming  with  life,  be  ye  earth,  and  remain 
in  form  as  now,  until  the  planet  which  bears  you  dis- 
solves !  "  And  so,  frozen  into  stillness  at  the  instant, 
what  were  then  billows  of  water  now  stretch  away 
billows  of  land  into  what  seems  to  the  traveler  in- 
finite distance,  with  the  same  long  roll  lapping  against 
and  upon  distant  huttes  that  the  Atlantic  has  to-day 

(112) 


MORNIXG   ON   THE   PLAINS.  113 

in  lashing  its  rock-ribbed  coasts  ;  and  whenever  man's 
busy  industry  cleaves  asunder  the  surface,  the  depths, 
like  thosei  of  ocean,  give  back  their  monsters  and 
rare  shells.  Huge  saurians,  locked  for  a  thousand 
centuries  in  their  vice-like  prison,  rise  up,  not  as  of 
old  to  bask  lazily  in  the  sun,  but  to  gape  with  huge 
jaws  at  the  demons  of  lightning  and  steam  rushing 
past,  and  to  crack  the  stiff  backs  of  savans  with  their 
forty  feet  of  tail. 

To  the  south  of  us,  and  distant  several  miles,  was 
the  line,  scarcely  visible,  of  the  Smoky  Hill,  treeless 
and  desolate ;  on  the  north,  the  upper  Saline,  equally 
barren.  As  difficult  to  distinguish  as  two  brow^n 
threads  dividing  a  brown  carpet,  they  might  have 
been  easily  overlooked,  had  we  not  known  the  streams 
were  there,  and,  with  the  aid  of  \Our  glasses,  sought 
far  their  ill-defined  banks. 

A  curve  in  the  road  brought  us  suddenly  and 
sharply  face  to  face  with  the  sun,  just  rising  in  the 
far-away  east,  and  flashing  its  ruddy  light  over  the 
vast  plain  around  us.  Its  bright  red  rim  first  ap- 
peared, followed  almost  immediately  by  its  round 
face,  for  all  the  w^orld  like  a  jolly  old  jack  tar,  with 
his  broad  brim  coming  above  deck.  It  reminded  me 
on  the  instant  of  our  brackish  friend.  Captain  Wal- 
rus; and  in  imagination  I  dreamily  pictured,  as  com- 
ing after  him,  with  the  broadening  daylight,  a  troop 
of  Alaskans,  their  sleds  laden  with  blubber. 

The  air  was  singularly  clear  and  bracing,  produc- 
ing an  effect  upon  a  pair  of  healthy  lungs  like  that 
felt  on  first  reaching  the  sea-beach  from  a  residence 


114  BUFFALO   LAND. 

inland.  An  illusion  which  had  followed  many  of  us 
from  boyhood  was  utterly  dissipated  by  the  early 
dawn  in  this  strange  land.  This  was  not  the  fact 
that  the  "great  American  desert"  of  our  schooMays 
is  not  a  desert  at  all,  for  this  we  had  known  for 
years ;  it  related  to  those  floods  of  flame  and  stifling 
smoke  with  which  sensational  writers  of  western 
novels  are  wont  to  sweep,  as  with  a  besom  of  de- 
struction, the  whole  of  prairie-land  once  at  least  in 
every  story.  Young  America,  wasting  uncounted 
gallons  of  midnight  oil  in  the  perusal  of  peppery 
tales  of  border  life,  little  suspects  how  slight  the 
foundation  upon  which  his  favorite  author  has  reared 
the  whole  vast  superstructure  of  thrilling  adventure. 

The  scene  of  these  heart-rending  narratives  is  usu- 
ally laid  in  a  boundless  plain  covered  with  tall 
grass,  and  the  dramatis  jpersonoe  are  an  indefinite 
number  of  buffalo  and  Indians,  a  painfully  definite 
one  of  emigrants,  two  persons  unhcxppy  enough  to 
possess  a  beautiful  daughter,  and  a  lover  still  more 
unhappy  in  endeavoring  to  acquire  title,  a  rascally 
half-breed  burning  to  prevent  the  latter  feat,  and  a 
rare  old  plainsman  specially  brought  into  existence  to 
"  sarcumvent "  him. 

At  the  most  critical  juncture  the  "waving  sea  of 
grass"  usually  takes  fire,  in  an  unaccountable  man- 
ner— perhaps  from  the  hot  condition  of  the  com- 
batants, or  the  quantities  of  burning  love  and  re- 
venge which  are  recklessly  scattered  about.  Multi- 
tudes of  frightened  buffalo  and  gay  gazelles  make  the 
ground  shake  in  getting  out  of  the  way,  and  the 
flames  go  to  licking  the  clouds,  while  the  emigrants 


/^^ 


FIRE   ON   THE   PLAINS,  ACCORDING   TO   NOVELS. 


FIRE  ON   THE   PLAINS,  AS   IT   IS. 


'  YOUTHFUL  TRADITIONS  DONE  FOR.      117 

go  to  licking  the  Indians.  Although  the  fire  can  not 
be  put  out,  one  or  the  other,  or  possibly  both,  of  the 
combatants  are  "put  out"  in  short  order. 

Should  the  miserable  parents  succeed  in  getting 
their  daughter  safely  through  this  peril,  it  is  only  be- 
cause she  is  reserved  for  a  further  laceration  of  our 
feelings.  The  half-breed  soon  gets  her,  and  the  lover 
and  rare  old  plainsman  get  on  his  track  immediately 
afterward.     And  so  on  ad  libitum. 

We  beg  pardon  for  condensing  into  our  sunrise  re- 
flections the  material  for  a  novel,  such  as  has  often 
run  well  through  three  hundred  pages,  and  furnished 
with  competencies  half  as  many  bill-posters.  It  is 
unpleasant  to  have  one's  traditionary  heroes  and 
heroines  all  knocked  into  pi  before  breakfast.  It 
makes  one  crusty.  Possibly,  it  may  be  their  proper 
desert,  but,  if  so,  could  be  better  digested  after  dinner. 

The  whole  story  would  fail  if  the  fire  did,  as  novel- 
ists never  like  to  have  their  heroines  left  out  in  the 
cold.  But  it  is  as  impossible  for  flames  as  it  is  for 
human  beings  to  exist  on  air  alone.  It  is  scarcely 
less  so  for  them  to  feed,  as  they  are  supposed  to  do, 
on  such  scanty  grass.  The  truth  is,  that  what  the 
bison,  with  his  close-cropping  teeth,  is  enabled  to 
grow  fat  on,  makes  but  poor  material  for  a  first-class 
conflagration. 

The  grass  which  covers  the  great  plains  of  the 
Far  West  is  more  like  brow^n  moss  than  what  its 
name  implies.  Perhaps  as  good  an  idea  of  it  as  is 
possible  to  any  one  who  has  never  seen  it,  may  be 
obtained  by  imagining  a  great  bufl*alo  robe  covering 


118  BUFFALO   LAND.  ^ 

the  ground.  The  hair  would  be  about  the  color  and 
nearly  the  length  of  the  grass,  at  the  season  in  ques- 
tion. In  the  spring  the  plains  are  fresh  and  green, 
but  the  grass  cures  rapidly  on  the  stalk,  and  before 
the  end  of  July  is  brown  and  ripe.  It  will  then  burn 
readily,  but  the  fire  is  like  that  eating  along  a  carpet, 
and  by  no  means  terrifying  to  either  man  or  brute. 
The  only  occasion  when  it  could  possibly  prove  dan- 
gerous is  when  it  reaches,  as  it  sometimes  does,  some 
of  the  narrow  valleys  where  the  tall  grass  of  the 
bottom  grows;  but  even  then,  a  run  of  a  hundred 
yards  will  take  one  to  buifalo  grass  and  safety.  This 
latter  fact  we  learned  from  actual  experience,  later  on 
our  trip. 

What  a  wild  land  we  were  in !  A  few  puffs  of  a 
locomotive  had  transferred  us  from  civilization  to 
solitude  itself.  This  was  the  "great  American 
desert "  which  so  caught  our  boyish  eyes,  in  the  days 
of  our  school  geography  and  the  long  ago.  A  myste- 
rious land  with  its  wonderful  record  of  savages  and 
scouts,  battles  and  hunts.  We  had  a  vague  idea 
then  that  a  sphynx  and  half  a  score  of  pyramids  were 
located  somewhere  upon  it,  the  sand  covering  its 
whole  surface,  when  not  engaged  in  some  sort  of  si- 
moon performance  above.  "No  trains  of  camels,  with 
wonderful  patience  and  marvelous  internal  reservoirs 
of  water,  dragged  their  weary  way  along,  it  was 
true;  yet  that  animal's  first  cousin,  the  American 
mule,  was  there  in  numbers,  as  hardy  and  as  useful 
as  the  other.  Many  an  eastern  mother,  in  the  days 
of  the  gold  fever,  took  down  her  boys  discarded  atlas, 
and  finding  the  space  on  the  continent  marked  "  Great 


A   SINGULAR   SYNCHRONISM.  119 

American  Desert,"  followed  with  tearful  eyes  the 
course  of  the  emigrant  trains,  and  tried  to  fix  the 
spot  where  the  dear  bones  of  her  first-born  lay 
bleaching. 

As  a  people,  we  are  better  acquainted  with  the 
wastes  of  Egypt  than  with  some  parts  of  our  own  land. 
The. plains  have  been  considered  the  abode  of  hun- 
ger, thirst,  and  violence,  and  most  of  our  party  ex- 
pected to  meet  these  geniuses  on  the  threshold  of 
their  domain,  and,  while  Shamus  should  fight  the 
first  two  with  his  skillet  and  camp-kettles  to  war 
against  the  third  with  rifle  and  hunting-knife. 

But  in  the  scene  around  us  there  was  nothing  ter- 
rifying in  the  least  degree.  The  sun  had  risen  with 
a  clear  highway  before  him,  and  no  clouds  to  entan- 
gle his  chariot  wheels.  He  was  mellow  at  this  early 
hour,  and  scattered  down  his  light  and  warmth  lib- 
erally. Wherever  the  soil  was  turned  up  by  the 
track,  we  discovered  it  to  be  strong  and  deep,  and 
capable  of  producing  abundant  crops  of  resin  weeds 
and  sunflowers,  which  with  farmers  is  a  written  cer- 
tificate, in  the  "language  of  flowers,"  of  good  char- 
acter. 

We  thundered  through  many  thriving  cities  of 
prairie  dogs,  the  inhabitants  of  which  seemed  all  out 
of  doors,  and  engaged  in  tail-bearing  from  house  to 
house.  The  principal  occupations  of  this  animal  ap- 
pears to  be  two;  first,  barking  like  a  squirrel,  and 
second,  jerking  the  caudal  appendage,  which  opera- 
tions synchronize  with  remarkable  exactitude.  One 
single  cord  seems  to  operate  both  extremities  of  the 
little  body  at  once.     It  could  no  more  open  its  mouth 


120  BUFFALO   LAND. 

without  twitching  its  tail,  than  a  single-thread  Jack 
could  bow  its  head  without  lifting  its  legs.  Those 
nearest  would  look  pertly  at  us  for  a  moment,  and 
then  dive  head  foremost  into  their  holes.  The  tail 
would  hardly  disappear  before  the  head  would  take 
its  place  and,  peering  out^  scrutinize  us  with  twink- 
ling e^'CS,  and  chatter  away  in  concert  with  its  neigh- 
bors, with  an  effect  which  reminded  me  of  a  forest 
of  monkeys  suddenly  disturbed. 

Sachem  declared  that  they  must  all  be  females,  for 
no  sooner  had  one  been  frightened  into  the  house 
than  it  poked  its  head  out  again  to  see  what  was  the 
matter.  *'  That  sex  would  risk  life  at  any  time  to 
know  what  was  up." 

The  professor,  with  a  more  practical  turn,  told  us 
some  of  the  quaint  little  animal's  habits.  "Why 
it  is  called  a  dog,"  said  he,  "  I  do  not  know.  JN'either 
in  bark,  form,  or  life,  is  there  any  resemblance.  It 
is  carnivorous,  herbivorous,  and  abstemious  from 
water,  requiring  no  other  fluids  than  those  obtained 
by  eating  roots.  Its  villages  are  often  far  removed 
from  water,  and  when  tamed  it  never  seems  to  desire 
the  latter,  though  it  may  acquire  a  taste  for  milk. 
It  partakes  of  meats  and  vegetables  with  apparently 
equal  relish.  It  is  easily  captured  by  pouring  two  or 
three  buckets  of  water  down  the  hole,  when  it 
emerges  looking  somewhat  like  a  half-drowned  rat. 
The  prairie  dog  is  the  head  of  the  original  *  happy 
family.'  It  was  formerly  affirmed,  even  in  works  of 
natural  history,  that  a  miniature  evidence  of  the 
millennium  existed  in  the  home  of  this  little  animal. 
There  the  rattlesnake,  the  owl,    and  the  dog  were 


THE    "happy  family"   MISUNDERSTOOD.       121 

supposed  to  lie  down  together,  and  such  is  still  the 
general  belief.  It  was  known  that  the  bird  and  the 
reptile  lived  in  these  villages  with  the  dog,  and 
science  set  them  down  as  honored  guests,  instead  of 
robbers  and  murderers,  as  they  really  are." 

On  our  trip  we  frequei;tly  killed  snakes  in  these 
villages  which  were  distended  with  dogs  recently 
swallowed.  The  owls  feed  on  the  younger  members 
of  the  household,  and  the  old  dogs,  except  when  lin- 
gering for  love  of  their  young,  are  not  long  in  aban- 
doning a  habitation  when  snakes  and  owls  take 
possession  of  it.  The  latter  having  two  votes,  and 
the  owner  but  one  (female  suffrage  not  being  ac- 
knowledged among  the  brutes),  it  is  a  "happy  fam- 
ily," on  democratic  principles  of  the  strictest  sort. 

We  have  also  repeatedly  noticed  the  dogs  busily 
engaged  in  filling  up  a  hole  quite  to  the  mouth  with 
dirt,  and  have  been  led  to  believe  that  in  this  manner 
they  occasionally  revenge  themselves  upon  their  ene- 
mies, perhaps  when  the  latter  are  gorged  with  ten- 
der puppies,  by  burying  them  alive.  An  old  scout 
once  told  us  that  this  filling  up  process  occurred 
whenever  one  of  their  community  was  dead  in  his 
house,  but  as  the  statement  was  only  conjectural,  we 
prefer  the  other  theory. 

While  we  were  this  day  steaming  through  one  vil- 
lage an  incident  occurred*  showing  that  these  animals 
have  yet  another  active  enemy.  Startled  by  the 
ears,  the  dogs  were  scampering  in  all  directions, 
when  a  powerful  chicken-hawk  shot  down  among 
them  with  such  wonderful  rapidity  of  flight  that  his 
shadow,  which  fell  like  that  from  a  flying  fragment 


122  BUFFALO   LAXD. 

of  cloud,  scarcely  seemed  to  reach  the  earth  before 
him.  Some  hundreds  of  the  little  brown  fellows 
were  running  for  dear  life,  and  plunging  wildly  into 
their  holes  without  any  manifestations  of  their  usual 
curiosity.  The  hawk's  shadow  fell  on  one  fat, 
burgher-like  dog,  perhaps  the  mayor  of  the  town, 
and  in  an  instant  the  robber  of  the  ^ir  was  over  him 
and  the  talons  fastened  in  his  back.  Then  the  bird 
of  prey  beat  heavily  with  its  pinions,  rising  a  few 
feet,  but,  finding  the  prize  too  heavy,  came  down. 
He  was  evidently  frightened  at  the  noise  of  the  cars 
and  we  hoped  the  prisoner  w^ould  escape.  But  the 
bird,  clutching  firmly  for  an  instant  the  animal  in 
its  talons,  drew  back  his  head  to  give  force  to  the 
blow,  and  down  clashed  the  hooked  beak  into  one 
of  the  victim's  eyes.  A  sharp  pull,  and  the  eyeball 
was  plucked  out.  Back  went  the  beak  a  second 
time,  and  the  remaining  eye  was  torn  from  its  socket, 
and  the  sightless  body  was  then  left  squirming  on 
the  ground,  while  the  hawk  flew  hastily  away  a  short 
distance,  evidently  to  return  when  we  had  passed  on. 
It  was  pitiful  to  see  the  dog  raise  up  on  its  haunches 
and  for  an  instant  sit  facing  us  with  its  empty  sockets, 
then  make  two  or  three  short  runs  to  find  a  path,  in 
its  sudden  darkness,  to  some  hole  of  refuge,  but 
fruitlesslv,  of  course. 

A  few  days  afterward,  at  Hays  City,  we  witnessed 
an  affair  in  which  the  air-pirate  got  worsted.  While 
sitting  before  the  office  of  the  village  doctor,  a  pow- 
erful hawk  pounced  upon  his  favorite  kitten,  which 
lay  asleep  on  the  grass,  and  started  off  with  it.  The 
two  had  reached  an  elevation  of  fifty  feet,  when  puss 


FELINE   IS  VICTOR.  123 

recovered  from  her  surprise  and  went  to  work  for 
liberty.  She  had  always  been  especially  addicted  to 
dining  on  birds,  and  the  sensation  of  being  carried 
off  by  one  excited  the  feline  mind  to*  astonishment 
and  wrath.  Twisting  herself  like  a  weasel  her  claws 
came  uppermost,  and  to  our  straining  gaze  there  was 
a  sight  presented  very  much  as  if  a  feather-bed  had 
been  ripped  open.  The  surprised  hawk  had  evidently 
received  new  light  on  the  subject;  it  let  go  on  the 
instant,  and  went  off  with  the  appearance  of  a  badly 
plucked  goose,  while  the  cat  came  safely  to  earth  and 
sought  the  nearest  way  home. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

WE  SEE  BUFFALO — ARRIVAL  AT  HAYS — GENERAL  SHERIDAN  AT  THE  FORT — INDIAN 
MURDERS— BLOOD-CHRISTENING  OP  THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD — SURPRISED  BY  A 
BUFFALO  HERD — A  BUFFALO  BULL  IN  A  QUANDARY — GENTLE  ZEPHYRS — HOW 
A   CIRCUS   WENT    OFF — BOLOGNA    TO    LEAN    ON — A    CALL    UPON   SHERIDAN. 

AS  we  passed  out  of  the  dog  village,  the  engine 
gave  several  short,  sharp  whistles,  and  number- 
less heads  were  at  once  thrust  out  to  ascertain  the 
cause.  "Buffalo!"  was  the  cry,  and  with  this  there 
was  a  rush  to  the  windows  for  a  view  of  the  noblest 
of  American  game.  Even  sleepy  elderly  gentlemen 
jostled  rudely,  and  Sachem  forgot  his  liver  so  far  as  to 
crowd  into  a  favorable  position  beside  a  young  woman. 
"There  they  go!"  "Oh,  my,  what  monsters!" 
"  What  beards !  "  "  What  horns !  "  "  Beats  a  steeple- 
chase!" "Uncanny  beasts,  lookin'  and  gangin'  like 
Nick !  "  "  Sure,  they're  going  home  from  a  divil's 
wake!"  and  similar  ejaculations  filled  the  car,  as  they 
do  a  race-stand  when  the  horses  are  off.  Two  huge 
bulls  had  crossed  just  ahead  of  the  engine,  and  one  of 
them,  apparently  deeming  escape  impossible,  was 
standing  at  bay  close  to  the  track,  head  down  for  a 
charge.  He  was  furious  with  terror,  the  hissing 
steam  and  cow-catcher  having  been  close  at  his  heels 
for  a  hundred  yards.  As  we  flew  past  he  was  imme- 
diately under  our  windows,  and  we  were  obliged  to 

(124) 


LO'S   FAVORITE   VICTIM.  125 

look  down  to  get  a  view  of  his  immense  body,  with 
the  back  curving  up  gradually  from  the  tail  into  an 
uncouth  hump  over  the  fore  shoulders. 

These  two  solitary  old  fellows  were  the  only  buffalo 
we  saw  from  the  train,  the  herds  at  large  having 
not  yet  commenced  their  southern  journey.  At  cer- 
tain seasons,  however,  they  cover  the  plains  on  each 
side  of  the  road  for  fifty  or  sixty  miles  in  countless 
multitudes.  These  wild  cattle  of  Uncle  Samuel's,  if 
called  upon,  could  supply  the  whole  Yankee  nation 
with  meat  for  an  indefinite  period. 

About  noon  we  arrived  at  Hays  City,  two  hundred 
and  eighty  miles  from  the  eastern  border  of  the  State, 
and  eighty  miles  out  upon  the  plains.  A  stream  tol- 
erably well  timbered,  known  as  Big  Creek,  runs 
along  the  southern  edge  of  the  town,  and  just  across 
it  lies  Fort  Hays,  town  and  fort  being  less  than  a 
mile  apart. 

The  post  possessed  considerable  military  impor- 
tance, being  the  base  of  operations  for  the  Indian 
country.  We  found  Sheridan  there,  an  ofiicer  who 
won  his  fame  gallantly  and  on  the  gallop.  During 
the  summer  our  red  brethren  had  been  gathering  a 
harvest  of  scalps,  and,  in  return,  our  army  was  now 
preparing  to  gather  in  the  gentle  savage. 

We  had  read  accounts  in  the  newspapers,  some 
time  before,  of  the  capture  of  Fort  Wallace  and  of  at- 
tacks on  military  posts.  Such  stories  were  not  only 
untrue,  but  exceedingly  ridiculous  as  well.  Lo  is  not 
sound  on  the  assault  question.  His  chivalrous  soul 
warms,  however,  when  some  forlorn  Fenian,  with 
spade  on  shoulder  and  thoughts  far  off  wdth  Biddy 
7 


126  BUFFALO   LAND. 

in  Erin's  Isle,  crosses  his  vision.  Being  satisfied 
Ikat  Patrick  has  no  arms,  his  only  defense  being  ut- 
ter harmlessness,  and  well  knowing  that  the  sight  of 
a  painted  skin,  rendered  sleek  by  boiled  dog's  meat, 
win  make  him  frantic  with  terror,  the  soul  of  the  no- 
ble savage  expands.  ISTo  more  shall  the  spade,  held 
60  jauntily,  throw  Kansas  soil  on  the  bed  of  the  Pa- 
cific Railroad;  and  the  scalp,  yet  tingling  with  the 
boiling  of  incipient  Fenian  revolutions  underneath,  on 
the  pole  of  a  distant  wigwam  will  soon  gladden  the 
eyes  of  the  traditionally  beautiful  Indian  bride,  as 
with  dirt}''  hands  she  throws  tender  puppies  into  the 
pot  for  her  warrior's  feast.  The  savage  hand,  crim- 
son since  childhood,  descends  with  defiant  ring  upon 
the  tawny  breast,  and,  with  a  cry  of,  "Me  big  Indian,  ha, 
w^hoop  !"  down  swee]3S  Lo  upon  the  defenseless  Hiber- 
nian. A  startled  stare,  a  shriek  of  wild  agony,  a  hur- 
ried prayer  to  "our  Mary  mother,"  and  Erin's  son 
christens  those  far-ofi^  points  of  the  Pacific  Railroad 
w^ith  his  blood.  A  rapid  circle  of  hunting-knife  and 
the  scalp  is  lifted,  a  few  twangs  of  the  bow  fills 
the  body  with  arrows,  there  is  a  rapid  vault  into  the 
saddle,  and  a  mutilated  corpse,  with  feathered  tips, 
like  pins  in  a  cushion,  dotting  its  surface,  alone  re- 
mains to  tell  the  tale  of  horror. 

Blood  had  been  every-where  on  the  railroad,  which 
reached  across  the  plains  like  a  steel  serpent  spotted 
with  red.  There  was  now  a  cessation  of  hostilities, 
and  Indian  agents  were  reported  to  be  on  the  way 
from  Washington  to  pacify  the  tribes.  As  they  had 
been  a  long  time  in  coming,  the  inference  was  irre- 
sistible that  the  popping  of  champagne  corks  was  a 


TWILIGHT   MUSINGS.  129 

mucli  more  pleasant  experience  than  that  of  Indian 
guns  would  have  been.  The  harvest  of  scalps  had 
reached  high  noon  some  time  before.  Far  off,  south 
of  the  Arkansas,  the  savages  had  their  home,  and 
from  thence,  like  baleful  will-o'-the-wisps,  they  would 
suddenly  flash  out,  and  then  flash  back  when  pur- 
sued, and  be  lost  in  those  remote  regions.  Lately, 
United  States  troops  have  been  so  placed  that  the 
Indian  villages  may  be  struck,  if  necessary,  and  retal- 
iation had;  and  this,  together  with  the  pacificatory 
efforts  of  the  Quaker  agents,  is  doing  much  to  bring 
about  a  condition  of  things  which  promises  perma- 
nent peace. 

Here  our  party  was  at  Hays,  the  objective  point  of 
our  journey,  and  our  base  of  operations  against  the 
treasures  of  the  past  and  present,  which  alike  covered 
the  country  around.  This  little  town  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  great  buffalo  range.  Away  upon  every  side 
of  it  stretch  those  vast  plains  where  the  short,  crisp 
grass  curls  to  the  ridges,  like  an  African's  kinky  hair  to 
his  skull.  Bison  and  wild  horse,  antelope  and  wolf,  for 
weeks  were  now  to  be  our  neighbors,  appearing  and 
vanishing  over  the  great  expanse  like  large  and  small 
piratical  crafts  on  an  ocean.  We  w^ere  kindly  received 
at  the  Big  Creek  Land  Company's  office,  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  town,  and  there  deposited  our  guns  and 
baggage.     Our  horses  were  expected  on  the  morrow. 

Twilight  found  us,  after  a  busy  afternoon,  sitting 
around  the  office  door,-with  that  tired  feeling  which  a 
traveler  has  when  mind  and  body  are  equally  ex- 
hausted. Our  very  tongues  were  silent,  those  useful 
members  having  wagged  until  even  they  were  grate- 


130  BUFFALO   LAND. 

fill  for  the  rest.  The  hour  of  dusk,  of  all  others,  is 
the  time  for  musing,  and  almost  involuntarily  our 
minds  wandered  back  a  twelve-month,  when  the 
plains  were  a  solitude.  Xo  railroad,  no  houses,  no 
tokens  of  civilization  save  only  a  few  solitary  posts, 
garrisoned  with  corporal's  guards,  and  surrounded  by 
red  fiends  thirsty  for  blood.  Such  was  the  picture 
then ;  now,  the  clangor  of  a  city  echoed  through  Big 
Creek  Valley. 

While  wondering  at  the  change,  away  on  the  hills 
to  our  right  there  rose  a  thundering  tread,  like  the 
marching  of  a  mighty  multitude.  Shamus,  who  sat 
directly  facing  the  hill,  saw  something  which  chilled 
the  Dobeen  blood,  and  caused  that  noble  Irishman  to 
plunge  behind  us.  Mr.  Colon,  who  had  given  a 
startled  turn  of  the  head  over  his  right  shoulder,  ex- 
claimed^ *' Bless  me,  what's  that?"  The  glance  of 
Muggs  froze  that  Briton  so  completely  that  he  failed 
to  tell  us  of  ever  having  seen  a  more  "hextraor- 
dinary  thing  in  Hingland."  I  am  in  doubt  whether 
even  our  grave  professor  did  not  imagine  for  the  mo- 
ment that  the  mammalian  age  was  taking  a  tilt 
at  us. 

Gathering  twilight  had  magnified  what  in  broad  day 
would  have  been  an  apparition  sufficiently  startling 
to  any  new  arrival  in  Buffalo  Land.  A  long  line  of 
black,  shaggy  forms  was  standing  on  the  crest  and 
looking  down  upon  us.  It  had  come  forward  like  the 
rush  of  a  hungry  wave,  and  now  remained  as  one 
uplifted,  dark  and  motionless.  In  bold  relief  against 
the  horizon  stood  an  array  of  colossal  figures,  all 
bristling   with   sharp   points,    which   at   first  sight 


AN  ASTONISHED   BISON.  131 

seemed  lances,  but  at  the  second  resolved  into  horns. 
Then  it  dawned  upon  our  minds  that  a  herd  of  the 
great  American  bison  stood  before  us.  What  a 
grateful  reduction  of  lumps  in  more  than  one  throat, 
and  how  the  air  ran  riot  in  lately  congealed  lungs ! 

Dobeen  declared  he  thought  the  professor's  "ghosts 
of  the  centuries  "  had  been  looking  down  upon  us. 

One  old  fellow,  evidently  a  leader  in  Buffalo  Land, 
with  long  patriarchial  beard  and  shaggy  forehead, 
remained  in  front,  his  head  upraised.  His  whole  at- 
titude bespoke  intense  astonishment.  '  For  years  this 
had  been  their  favorite  path  between  Arkansas  and 
the  Platte.  Big  Creek's  green  valley  had  given  suc- 
culent grasses  to  old  and  young  of  the  bison  tribe 
from  time  immemorial.  Every  hollow  had  its  tradi- 
tions of  fierce  wolf  fights  and  Indian  ambuscades, 
and  many  a  stout  bull  could  remember  the  exact 
spot  where  his  charge  had  rescued  a  mother  and  her 
young  from  the  hungry  teeth  of  starving  timber 
wolves.  Every  wallow,  tree,  and  sheltering  ravine 
were  sacred  in  the  traditions  of  Buffalo  Land.  The 
petrified  bones  of  ancestors  who  fell  to  sleep  there  a 
thousand  years  before  testified  to  purity  of  bison 
blood  and  pedigree. 

Now  all  this  was  changed.  Rushing  toward  their 
loved  valley,  they  found  themselves  in  the  suburbs  of 
a  town.  Yells  of  red  man  and  wolf  were  never  so  hor- 
rible as  that  of  the  demon  flashing  along  the  valley's 
bed.  A  great  iron  path  lay  at  their  feet,  barring 
them  back  into  the  wilderness.  Slowly  the  shagg}'' 
monarch  shook  his  head,  as  if  in  doubt  whether  this 
were  a  vision  or  not;  then  whirling  suddenly,  per- 


132  BUFFALO   LAND. 

haps  indignantly,  he  turned  away  and  disappeared 
behind  the  ridge,  and  the  bison  multitude  followed. 

Our  horses  arrived  the  next  morning  all  safe,  ex- 
cepting a  few  skin  bruises,  the  steed  Cynocephalus, 
however,  being  a  trifle  stiffer  than  usual,  from  the 
motion  of  the  cars.  When  they  were  trotted  out 
for  inspection,  by  some  hostlers  whom  we  had  hired 
that  morning  for  our  trip,  the  inhabitants  must  have 
considered  the  sight  the  next  best  thing  to  a  circus. 

Apropos  of  circuses,  we  learned  that  one  had  exhib- 
ited for  the  first  and  only  time  on  the  plains  a  few 
months  before.  In  that  country,  dear  reader,  JEolus 
has  a  habit  of  loafing  around  with  some  of  his  sacks 
in  which  young  whirlwinds  are  put  up  ready  for  use. 
One  of  these  is  liable  to  be  shaken  out  at  any 
moment,  and  the  first  intimation  afforded  you  that 
the  spirit  which  feeds  on  trees  and  fences  is  loose,  is 
when  it  snatches  your  hat,  and  begins  flinging  dust 
and  pebbles  in  your  eyes.  But  to  return  to  our 
circus  performance.  For  awhile  all  passed  off  admi- 
rably. The  big  tent  swallowed  the  multitude,  and 
it  in  turn  swallowed  the  jokes  of  the  clown,  older, 
of  course,  than  himself.  In  the  customary  little  tent 
the  living  skeleton  embodied  Sidney  Smith's  wish 
and  sat  cooling  in  his  bones,  while  the  learned  pig 
and  monkey  danced  to  the  melodious  accompaniment 
of  the  hand-organ. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  clatter  of  poles,  and  two 
canvass  clouds  flew  out  of  sight  like  balloons.  The 
living  skeleton  found  himself  on  a  distant  ridge,  with 
the  wind  whistling  among  his  ribs,  while  the  monkey 


A   BANKRUPT   SHOWMAN.  135 

performed  somersaults  which  would  have  astonished 
the  original  Cynocephalus.  The  pig  meanwhile 
found  refuge  behind  the  organ,  which  the  hurricane, 
with  a  better  ear  for  music  than  man,  refused  to 
turn. 

"Mademoiselle  Zavenowski,  the  beautiful  leading 
equestrienne  of  the  w^orld,"  just  preparing  to  jump 
through  a  hoop,  went  through  her  own  with  a 
whirl,  and  stood  upon  the  plains  feeding  the  hungry 
storm  with  her  charms.  The  graceful  young  rider, 
lately  perforating  hearts  with  the  kisses  she  flung  at 
them,  in  a  trice  liad  become  a  maiden  of  fifty,  notice- 
ably the  worse  for  wear. 

An  eye-witness,  in  describing  the  scene  to  us,  said 
the  circus  went  oif  without  a  single  drawback.  It 
was  as  if  a  ton  of  gunpowder  had  been  fired  under 
the  ring.  Just  as  the  clown  was  rubbing  his  leg,  as 
the  result  of  calling  the  sensitive  ring-master  a  fool 
(a  sham  sufi*ering,  though  for  truth's  sake),  there 
was  a  sharp  crack,  and  the  establishment  dissolved. 
High  in  air  went  hats  and  bonnets,  like  fragments 
shot  out  of  a  volcano.  The  spirits  of  zephyr-land 
carried  off  uncounted  hundreds  of  tiles,  both  military 
and  civil,  and  we  desire  to  place  it  upon  record  that 
should  a  future  missionary,  in  some  remote  northern 
tribe,  find  traditions  of  a  time  when  the  sky  rained 
hats,  they  may  all  be  accounted  for  on  purely 
scientific  grounds. 

Much  property  was  lost,  but  no  lives.  The  im- 
mediate results  were  a  bankrupt  showman  and  a  run 
on  liniments  and  sticking-plaster. 


136  BUFFALO   LAND. 

Our  first  hunt  was  to  be  on  the  Saline,  which 
comes  down  from  the  west  about  fifteen  miles  north 
of  Hays  City. 

Before  starting,  we  carefully  overhauled  our  entire 
outfit.  For  a  long,  busy  day  nothing  was  thought 
of  save  the  cleaning  of  guns,  the  oiling  of  straps,  and 
the  examination  of  saddles,  with  sundry  additions  to 
wardrobe  and  larder.  Shamus  became  a  mighty 
man  among  grocery-keepers,  and  could  scarcely  have 
been  more  popular  had  he  been  an  Indian  supply 
agent.  The  inventory  which  he  gave  us  of  his  pur- 
chases comprised  twelve  cans  of  condensed  milk,  with 
coffee,  tea,  and  sugar,  in  proportion ;  several  pounds 
each  of  butter,  bacon,  and  crackers ;  a  few  loaves  of 
bread,  two  sacks  of  flour,  some  pickles,  and  a  sufii- 
cient  number  of  tin-plates,  cups,  and  spoons.  To  these 
he  subsequently  added  a  half-dozen  hams  and  some- 
thing like  fifty  yards  of  Bologna  sausage,  which  he 
told  us  were  for  use  when  we  should  tire  of  fresh 
meat.  Sachem  entered  protest,  declaring  that  sau- 
sage and  ham,  in  a  country  full  of  game,  reflected 
upon  us. 

Of  course,  we  found  use  for  every  item  of  the  above, 
and  especially  for  the  Bologna.  If  one  can  feel  satis- 
fied in  his  own  mind  as  to  what  portion  of  the  brute 
creation  is  entering  into  him,  a  half-yard  of  Bologna, 
tied  to  the  saddle,  stays  the  stomach  wonderfully  on 
an  all  day's  ride.  It  is  so  handy  to  reach  it,  while 
trotting  along,  and  with  one's  hunting-knife  cut  off  a 
few  inches  for  immediate  consumption.  Semi-Colon, 
however,  who  was  a  youth  of  delicate  stomach,  sick- 
ened on  his  ration  one  day,  because  he  found  some- 


LOOKED   LIKE  THE  END  OF  A   TAIL." 


THI.    KARL    OLD    PLAlNbMAN    OF     IHE   NOVELS. 


Sheridan's  camp  on  big  creek.  139 

tiling  in  it  which,  he  said,  looked  like  the  end  of  a  tail. 
It  is  a  debatable  question,  to  my  mind,  whether 
Satan,  among  his  many  ways  of  entering  into  man, 
does  not  occasionally  do  so  in  the  folds  of  Bologna 
sausage.  Certain  it  is  that,  after  such  repast,  one 
often  feels  like  Old  Nick,  and  woe  be  to  the  man  at 
any  time  who  is  at  all  dyspeptic.  All  the  forces  of 
one's  gastric  juices  may  then  prove  insufficient  to 
wage  successful  battle  with  the  evil  genius  which 
rends  him. 

Our  outfit,  as  regards  transportation,  consisted  of 
the  animals  heretofore  mentioned,  and  two  teams 
which  we  hired  at  Hays,  for  the  baggage  and  com- 
missary supplies. 

The  evening  before  our  departure  we  rode  over  to 
the  fort  and  called  upon  General  Sheridan.  ^'Little 
Phil"  had  pitched  his  camp  on  the  bank  of  Big 
Creek,  a  short  distance  below  the  fort,  preferring  a 
soldier's  life  in  the  tent  to  the  more  comfortable 
officer's  quarters.  This  we  thought  eminently  char- 
acteristic of  the  man.  He  is  an  accumulation  of 
tremendous  energy  in  small  compass,  a  sort  of  em- 
bodied nitro-glycerine,  but  dangerous  only  to  his 
enemies.  Famous  principally  as  a  cavalry  leader, 
because  Providence  flung  him  into  the  saddle  and 
started  him  off  at  a  gallop,  had  his  destiny  been  in- 
fantry, he  would  have  led  it  to  victory  on  the  run. 
And  now,  officer  after  officer  having  got  sadly  tangled 
in  the  Indian  web,  which  was  weaving  its  strong 
threads  over  so  fair  a  portion  of  our  land,  Sheridan 
was  sent  forward  to  cut  his  way  through  it. 

The  camp  was  a  pretty  picture  with  its  line  of 


140  BUFFALO   LAND. 

white  tents,  the  timber  along  the  creek  for  a  back- 
ground, and  the  solemn,  apparently  illimitable  plains 
stretching  away  to  the  horizon  in  front.  Taken  alto- 
gether, it  looked  more  like  the  comfortable  nooning 
spot  of  a  cavalry  scout  than  the  quarters  of  a  famous 
General.  Our  chieftain  stood  in  front  of  the  center 
tent,  with  a  few  stafP-officers  lounging  near  by,  his 
short,  thick-set  figure  and  firm  head  giving  us  some- 
how the  idea  of  a  small,  sinewy  lion. 

We  found  the  General  thoroughly  conversant  with 
the  difficult  task  to  which  he  had  been  called.  "Place 
the  Indians  on  reservations,"  he  said,  "under  their 
own  chiefs,  with  an  honest  white  superintendency. 
Let  the  civil  law  reign  on  the  reservation,  military 
law  away  from  it,  every  Indian  found  by  the  troops 
off  from  his  proper  limits  to  be  treated  as  an  outlaw." 
It  seemed  to  me  that  in  a  few  brief  sentences  this 
mapped  out  a  successful  Indian  policy,  part  of  which 
indeed  has  since  been  adopted,  and  the  remainder 
may  yet  be. 

When  speaking  of  late  savageries  on  the  plains 
the  eyes  of  "Little  Phil"  glittered  wickedly.  In  one 
case,  on  Spillman's  Creek,  a  band  of  Cheyennes  had 
thrust  a  rusty  sword  into  the  body  of  a  woman  with 
child,  piercing  alike  mother  and  offspring,  and,  giving 
it  a  fiendish  twist,  left  the  weapon  in  her  body,  the 
poor  woman  being  found  by  our  soldiers  yet  living. 

^'I  believe  it  possible,"  said  Sheridan,  "at  once  and 
forever  to  stop  these  terrible  crimes."  As  he  spoke, 
however,  we  saw  what  he  apparently  did  not,  a  long 
string  of  red  tape,  of  which  one  end  was  pinned  to 
his  official  coat-tail,  while  the  other  remained  in  the 


A   STAMPEDE   OF   MULES.  141 

hands  of  the  Department  at  Washington.  Soon 
after,  as  Sheridan  pushed  forward,  the  Washington 
end  twitched  vigorously.  He  managed,  however, 
with  his  right  arm,  Custer,  to  deal  a  sledge-hammer 
blow,  which  broke  to  fragments  the  Cheyenne  Black- 
kettle  and  his  band.  Whether  or  not  that  band  had 
been  guilty  of  the  recent  murders,  the  property  of 
the  slain  was  found  in  their  possession,  and  the  ter- 
rible punishment  caused  the  residue  of  the  tribe  to 
sue  for  peace.  It  was  the  first  time  for  years  that 
the  war  spirit  had  placed  any  horrors  at  their  doors, 
and  that  one  terrible  lesson  prepared  the  savage  mind 
for  the  advent  of  peace  commissioners. 

Our  brief  conference  ended,  the  General  bade  us 
good  day,  and  wished  us  a  pleasant  experience. 
Scarcely  had  we  got  beyond  his  tents,  however,  when 
we  were  overtaken  by  a  decidedly  unpleasant  one. 
On  their  way  to  water,  a  troop  of  mules  stampeded, 
and  passing  us  in  a  cloud  of  dust,  our  brutes  took  bits 
in  their  teeth,  and  joined  company.  Happily,  the 
run  was  a  short  one  to  the  creek,  where  those  of 
us  who  had  not  fallen  off  before  managed  to  do  so 
then.  Poor  Gripe  was  the  only  person  injured, 
suffering  the  fracture  of  a  rib,  which  necessitated  his 
return  to  Topeka,  so  that  we  did  not  see  him  again 
until  some  months  afterward,  when  we  met  him  on 
the  Solomon, 


CHAPTER   X. 

BAYS  CITY  BY  LAMP-LIGHT — THE  SANTA  FE  TRADE — BULL-WHACKERS — MEXICANS^ 

SABBATH    ON   THE   PLAINS — THE    DARK    AGES — WILD  BILL  AND  BUFFALO  BILL 

OFF  FOB  THE   SALINE — DOBEBN's  GHOST-STORY — AN  ADVENTURE  WITH    INDIANS 
MEXICAN  CANNONADE — A  RUNAWAY.  ' 

HAYS  CITY  by  lamp-light  was  remarkably  lively 
and  not  very  moral.  The  streets  blazed  with 
the  reflection  from  saloons,  and  a  glance  within 
showed  floors  crowded  with  dancers,  the  gaily  dress- 
ed women  striving  to  hide  with  ribbons  and  paint 
the  terrible  lines  which  that  grim  artist,  Dissipa- 
tion, loves  to  draw  upon  such  faces.  With  a  heart- 
less humor  he  daubs  the  noses  of  the  sterner  sex  a 
cherry  red,  but  paints  under  the  once  bright  eyes  of 
woman  a  shade  dark  as  the  night  in  the  cave  of  des- 
pair. To  the  music  of  violin  and  stamping  of  feet, 
the  dance  went  on,  and  we  saw  in  the  giddy  maze  old 
men  who  must  have  been  pirouetting  on  the  very 
edge  of  their  graves. 

Being  then  the  depot  for  the  great  Santa  Fe  trade, 
the  town  was  crowded  with  Mexicans  and  specula- 
tors. Large  warehouses  along  the  track  were  stored 
with  wool  awaiting  shipment  east,  and  with  mer- 
chandise to  be  taken  back  with  the  returning  wagons. 
These  latter  are  of  immense  size,  and,  from  this  cir- 

(142) 


HIRING   BULL-WHACKERS.  143 

cumstance,  are  sometimes  called  ''prairie  schooners;  " 
and,  in  truth,  when  a  train  of  them  is  winding  its 
way  over  the  plains,  the  white  covers  flecking  its  sur- 
face like  sails,  the  sight  is  not  unlike  a  fleet  coming 
into  port.  Oxen  and  mules  are  both  used.  When 
the  former,  the  drivers  rejoice  in  the  title  of  "bull- 
whackers,"  and  the  crack  of  their  whips,  as  loud  as 
the  report  of  a  rifle,  is  something  tremendous. 

On  the  day  of  our  arrival  at  Hays  City,  one  of 
these  festive  individuals  noticed  Dobeen  gazing,  with 
open  mouth,  and  back  towards  him,  at  some  object 
across  the  street,  and  took  the  opportunity  to  crack 
his  lash  within  an  inch  of  the  Irishman's  spine.  The 
effect  was  ludicrous ;  Shamus  came  in  on  the  run  to 
have  a  ball  extracted  from  his  back ! 

These  Mexicans  who  come  through  with  the  ox- 
trains  are  a  very  degraded  race,  dark,  dirty,  and  dis- 
mal. In  appearance,  they  much  resemble  animated 
bundles  of  rags,  walking  oif  with  heads  of  charcoal. 
Personal  bravery  is  not  one  of  their  striking  charac- 
teristics ;  indeed,  they  often  run  away  when  to  stand 
still  would  seenir  to  an  American  the  only  safe  course 
possible.  We  were  desirous  of  sending  back  to  Hays 
City  some  of  the  proceeds  of  our  excursion  for  ship- 
ment to  friends  at  St.  Louis  and  Chicago,  and  there- 
fore hired  two  of  the  Mexican  teamsters  to  go  as  far 
as  the  Saline,  and  return  with  the  fruits  of  our  prow- 
ess. For  this  service,  which  would  occupy  about 
four  days,  they  were  to  receive  twenty-five  dollars 
each. 

The  morrow  was  Sunday,  and  came  to  us,  as  nine- 
tenths  of  the  mornings  on  the  plains  did  afterward, 


144  BUFFALO   LAND. 

clear  and  bracing.  Compared  with  the  previous 
evening,  the  little  town  was  very  quiet.  There  was 
no  stir  in  the  streets,  although  later  in  the  morning 
a  few  of  the  last  night's  carousers  came  out  of  doors, 
rubbing  their  sleep}^  oyes,  and  slunk  around  town  for 
the  remainder  of  the  day.  All  nature  was  calm  and 
beautiful ;  it  almost  seemed  as  if  we  might  hear  the 
chime  of  Sabbath  bells  float  to  us  from  somewhere  in 
the  depths  around. 

One  of  our  sea  legends  recites  that  ship  wrecked 
bells,  fallen  from  the  society  of  men  to  that  of  mer- 
maids, are  straightway  hung  on  coral  steeples,  where, 
when  storms  roar  around  the  rocks  above,  they  toll 
for  the  deaths  of  the  mariners.  Was  it  impossible, 
we  mused,  that  ancient  mariners,  with  whole  cargoes 
of  bells,  went  down  on  this  inland  sea  centuries  be- 
fore Rome  howled  ?  The  earth  around  us  might  be 
as  full  of  musical  tongues  as  of  saurians,  and  only 
awaiting  the  savan's  spade  and  sympathetic  touch  to 
give  their  dumb  eloquence  voice.  If  the  people  of  those 
days  were  navigators,  surely  they  might  also  have 
been  men  of  metal.  In  the  far-away  past  existed 
numerous  arts  which  baffle  modern  ingenuity.  Stones 
were  lifted  at  sight  of  which  our  engineers  stand  dis- 
mayed. Bodies  were  embalmed  with  a  skill  and  per- 
fection which  our  medical  faculty  admire,  but  have 
scarcely  even  essayed  to  imitate.  Is  it  impossible 
that  vessels  plowed  this  ancient  ocean  with  a  speed 
which  would  have  left  our  Cunarders  out  of  sight? 
If  human  spirits  freed  from  earth  take  cognizance  of 
following  generations,  how  those  old  captains  must 


WILD   BILL.  145 

have  laughed  when  Fulton  boarded  his  wheezing  ex- 
periment to  paddle  up  the  Hudson !  And  if  our 
doctor's  Darwinian-Pythagorean  theory  were  correct, 
Fulton's  spirit  might  have  brought  the  crude  idea 
from  some  ancient  stoker. 

But  while  we  were  thus  speculating  and  giving  free 
reins  to  Fancy's  most  erratic  moods,  the  chaplain 
arrived  from  the  fort,  and  mounting  the  freight  plat- 
form, read  the  Episcopal  morning  service.  A  crowd 
gathered  around,  and  a  voice  from  the  past  w^hisper- 
ing  in  their  ears,  a  few  bowed  their  heads  during 
prayer.  A  drunkard  went  brawling  by,  with  a  side- 
long glance  and  the  leering  look  of  eyes  whose  watery 
lids  seemed  making  vain  efforts  to  quench  the  fiery 
balls.  How  it  grated  on  one's  feelings !  In  a  land 
so  eloquent  with  voices  of  the  mighty  past,  it  seemed 
as  if  even  instinct  would  cause  the  knee  to  bow  in 
homage  before  its  Maker. 

Monday  was  our  day  of  final  preparation,  and  we 
commenced  it  by  making  the  acquaintance  of  those 
two  celebrated  characters.  Wild  Bill  and  Bufi^xlo  Bill, 
or,  more  correctly,  William  Hickock  and  William 
Cody.  The  former  was  acting  as  sheriff  of  the  town, 
and  the  latter  we  engaged  as  our  guide  to  the  Saline. 

Wild  Bill  made  his  entree  into  one  court  of  the 
temple  of  fame  some  years  since  through  Harper's 
Magazine.  Since  then  his  name  has  become  a  house- 
hold word  to  residents  along  the  Kansas  frontier. 
We  found  him  very  quiet  and  gentlemanly,  and  not 
at  all  the  reckless  fellow  w^e  had  supposed.  His  form 
won  our  admiration — the  shoulders  of  a  Hercules 
with  the  waist  of  a  girl.     Much  has  been  written 


146  BUFFALO   LAND. 

about  Wild  Bill  that  is  pure  fiction.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve, for  example,  that  he  could  hit  a  nickel  across 
the  street  with  a  pistol-ball,  any  more  than  an  Indian 
could  do  so  with  an  arrow.  These  feats  belong  to 
romance.  Bill  is  wonderfully  handy  with  his  pistols, 
however.  He  then  carried  two  of  them,  and  while 
we  were  at  Hays  snuffed  a  man's  life  out  with  one ; 
but  this  was  done  in  his  capacity  of  officer.  Two 
rowdies  devoted  their  energies  to  brewing  a  riot,  and 
defied  arrest  until,  at  Bill's  first  shot,  one  fell  dead, 
and  the  other  threw  up  his  arms  in  token  of  submis- 
sion. During  his  life  time  Bill  has  probably  killed 
his  baker's  dozen  of  men,  but  he  has  never,  I  believe, 
been  known  as  the  aggressor.  To  the  people  of 
Hays  he  was  a  valuable  officer,  making  arrests  when 
and  where  none  other  dare  attempt  it.  His  power 
lies  in  the  wonderful  quickness  with  which  he  draws 
a  pistol  and  takes  his  aim.  These  first  shots,  how- 
ever, can  not  always  last.  "  They  that  take  the  sword 
shall  perish  with  the  sword ; "  and  living  as  he  does 
by  the  pistol,  Bill  will  certainly  die  by  it,  unless  he 
abandons  the  frontier. 

Only  a  short  time  after  we  left  Hays  two  soldiers 
attempted  his  life.  Attacked  unexpectedly.  Bill  was 
knocked  down  and  the  muzzle  of  a  musket  placed 
against  his  forehead,  but  before  it  could  be  discharged 
the  ready  pistol  was  drawn  and  the  two  soldiers  fell 
down,  one  dead,  the  other  badly  wounded.  Their 
companions  clamored  for  revenge,  and  Bill  changed 
his  base.  He  afterward  became  marshal  of  the 
town  of  Abilene,  where  he  signalized  himself  by  car- 
rying a  refractory  councilman   on   his  shoulders  to 


BUFFALO   BILL.  149 

the  council-chamber.  A  few  months  later  some 
drunken  Texans  attempted  a  riot,  and  one  of  them, 
a  noted  gambler,  commenced  firing  on  the  marshal. 
The  latter  returned  the  fire,  shooting  not  only  the 
gambler,  but  one  of  his  own  friends,  who,  in  the  gloom 
of  the  evening,  was  hurrying  to  his  aid.  Bill  paid 
the  expenses  of  the  latter's  funeral,  which  on  the 
frontier  is  considered  the  proper  and  delicate  way  of 
consoling  the  widow  whenever  such  little  accidents 
occur. 

The  Professor  took  occasion,  before  parting  with 
Wild  William,  to  administer  some  excellent  advice, 
urging  him  especially,  if  he  wished  to  die  in  his  bed, 
to  abandon  the  pistol  and  seize  upon  the  plow-share. 
His  reputation  as  Union  scout,  guide  for  the  Indian 
country,  and  sheriff  of  frontier  towns,  our  leader 
said,  was  a  sufficient  competency  of  fame  to  justify 
his  retirement  upon  it.  In  this  opinon  the  public 
will  certainly  coincide. 

Buffalo  Bill  was  to  be  our  guide.  He  informed  us 
that  Wild  Bill  was  his  cousin.  Cody  is  spare  and 
wiry  in  figure,  admirably  versed  in  plain  lore,  and 
altogether  the  best  guide  I  ever  saw.  The  mysteri- 
ous plain  is  a  book  that  he  knows  by  heart.  He 
crossed  it  twice  as  teamster,  while  a  mere  boy,  and 
has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  on  it  since. 
He  led  us  over  its  surface  on  starless  nights,  when 
the  shadow  of  the  blackness  above  hid  our  horses 
and  the  earth,  and  though  many  a  time  with  no  trail 
to  follow  and  on  the  very  mid-ocean  of  the  expanse,  he 
never  made  a  failure.  Buffalo  Bill  has  since  figured 
in  one  of  Buntline's  Indian  romances.  We  award 
8 


150  BUFFALO   LAND. 

him  the  credit  of  being  a  good  scout  and  most 
excellent  guide ;  but  the  fact  that  he  can  slaughter 
buffcilo  is  by  no  means  remarkable,  since  the  Ameri- 
can bison  is  dangerous  game  only  to  amateurs. 

We  were  off  early  on  Tuesday  morning  for  the 
Saline,  our  course  toward  which  lay  before  us  a  little 
west  of  north,  the  citizens  turning  out  to  see  us  start. 
We  had  just  parted  from  G-ripe,  who  went  East  on 
the  first  train  to  get  his  ribs  healed.  "  To  think, 
gentlemen,"  said  he,  "that  I  should  have  escaped 
rebel  bullets  and  Indian  atrocities,  only  to  have 
my  ribs  cracked  at  last  by  a  stampede  of  mules ! " 
Poor  Gripe's  farewell  reminded  me  strongly  of  the 
old  saying  about  the  ruling  passion  strong  in  death. 
As  he  stood  on  the  platform,  with  one  hand  against 
his  aching  side,  he  could  not  refrain  from  waving  a 
courtly  adieu  with  the  other,  and  bowing  himself 
from  our  presence,  into  the  car,  as  if  leaving  the 
stage  after  a  political  speech. 

We  were  sorry  to  lose  our  friend,  and  this,  to- 
gether with  the  thought  of  the  weeks  of  uncertain- 
ties and  anxieties  which  lay  before  us,  made  our  exit 
from  Hays  rather  a  solemn  affair.  Even  Tammany 
Sachem's  face  was  ironed  out  so  completely  that  not 
a  smile  wrinkled  it.  Dobeen  had  loaded  one  wagon 
with  culinary  weapons,  and  now  sat  among  his  pots 
and  pans,  evidently  ill  at  ease  and  wishing  himself 
doing  any  thing  else  rather  than  about  to  plunge 
further  into  the  wilderness. 

When  about  to  mount  Cynocephalus,  Semi's  feel- 
ings were  wounded  by  a  depraved  urchin  who  sug- 
gested, "You'd  better  fust  knock  that  fly  off,  Boss. 


THE   PROFESSOR   DISCOURSETH.  151 

Both  on  ye  '11  be  too  much  for  the  hoss ! "  For- 
tunately, perhaps,  for  our  feelings,  the  remainder  of 
the  inhabitants  were  so  civil  that  further  criticisms 
on  our  outfit,  though  they  may  have  been  ripe  at 
their  tongues'  end,  were  carefully  repressed. 

Moving  out  over  the  divide  above  town  the  Pro- 
fessor noticed  the  general  depression  of  the  party, 
and  forthwith  began  philosophising. 

"  My  friends,"  said  he,  "  had  the  feelings  which 
explorers  suifer,  when  fairly  launched,  been  allowed 
to  be  present  during  the  days  of  preparation,  science 
and  discovery  would  be  in  their  infancy.  Enthusiasm^ 
bridges  the  first  obstacles  to  an  undertaking,  but 
others  roll  on  and  block  the  explorer's  path,  and  the 
spirit  which  has  got  him  into  the  difficulty  momen- 
tarily deserts  him.  If  properly  courted,  however, 
she  returns,  and  meanwhile  the  traveler  is  aiforded 
the  opportunity  of  looking,  through  matter-of-fact 
spectacles,  along  his  future  journey.  What  he 
thought  pebbles  reveal  themselves  as  hills,  and  what 
he  had  marked  on  his  chart  as  hills  develop  into 
mountains.  These  he  must  recognize  and  examine 
with  all  the  resolution  he  can  summon,  and  he  will 
be  the  more  able  to  climb  them  from  expecting  to  do 
so.  Right  here  is  the  critical  point  in  his  journey. 
Numerous  cross-roads  branch  off — some  right, 
others  left,  but  all  with  a  brighter  prospect  down 
them.  Perhaps  on  one,  a  wife  and  children  stand  at 
the  door  of  their  home,  beckoning  him.  The  garden 
that  his  own  hand  planted  blooms  in  a  background 
of  flowers,  while  the  path  he  has  now  chosen  sparkles 
with  winter  snow.     He  knows,  however,  that  beyond 


152  BUFFALO   LAND. 

these,  perhaps  amid  sterile  mountains,  are  the  pre* 
cious  diamonds  he  seeks. 

"  It  is  wise  that,  where  these  roads  branch  oif — some 
to  castles  of  indolence,  others  to  comfortable  homes 
and  moderate  exertion — the  man  should  be  left  alone 
for  a  time  and  allowed  to  survey  the  rough  path  be- 
fore him,  with  all  the  blinding  glamour  of  enthusiasm 
subdued  by  the  light  of  truth,  and  with  a  full  knowl- 
edge of  all  the  stumbling  blocks  which  lie  before 
him.  If  he  then  thumbs  the  edge  of  his  hunting- 
knife,  examines  his  Henry  rifle,  and  presses  forward, 
the  metal  is  there,  and  from  that  time  onward  you 
may  at  any  time  learn  of  his  whereabouts  by  inquir- 
ing at  the  temple  of  fame." 

Sachem  interrupted  the  Professor  to  remonstrate 
at  the  girding  of  loins  being  left  out.  He  had  always 
been  used  to  the  girding  in  similar  discourses,  and 
considered  that  loins  were  in  much  more  general  use 
than  Henry  rifles. 

And  now  Shamus,  from  his  perch  on  the  pans,  sud- 
denly broke  in :  "  Faith,  Professor,  your  enthusiasm 
once  brought  me  sore  trouble.  It  got  me  into  a 
haunted  house,  when  the  clock  was  strikin'  midnight, 
and  my  legs  were  sore  put  to  it  to  get  me  out  fast 
enough.  Ye  see,  I  bet  a  pig  with  my  next  cousin 
that  I  would  stay  all  night  in  an  old  house  full  of 
spirits.  The  masjter  and  his  house-keeper  had  been 
murdered  in  the  tenantry  riots,  and  the  boys  that  did 
the  business,  they  swung  for  it  soon  afterward.  And 
now,  there  was  a  regular  barricadin'  and  attackin' 
going  on  those  nights  ever  since.  While  I  was 
lookin'  at  the  old  clock,  and  thinkin'  of  the  pig  I  'd 


LADY  DOBEE^^'S   SORROW.  153 

drag  home  in  the  morning,  I  must  have  dramed  a 
little.  He  was  as  likely  a  pig  as  yez  ever  saw,  and 
I  was  listen  in'  proudly  to  his  swate  cries  as  I  carried 
him  from  the  sty,  and  feelin'  full  enough  of  enthusiasm 
to  stay  there  a  hundred  years.  Just  then  there  was 
a  rustlin'  in  front,  and  I  opened  my  eyes  wide,  and 
there  stood  the  old  house-keeper  leanin'  against  the 
shaky  clock,  with  her  ear  to  its  yellow  face,  and 
lookin'  straight  behind  me  to  where  I  could  feel  the 
master  was  sittin'.  There  was  an  aw^ful  light  in  her 
eyes,  and  I  thought  I  heard  her  say — any  way,  I 
knew  she  was  sayin'  it — *  Hark,  Sir  Donald,  they  're 
comin',  but  the  soldiers  will  be  here,  too,  at  twelve.' 
An'  then  there  was  a  sort  of  shudder  in  the  old  clock 
and  it  commenced  a  wheezin'  an  bangin'  away,  a 
tryin'  to  get  through  the  strokes  of  twelve,  as  it  did 
twenty  years  before.  But  it  hadn't  got  out  half, 
when  I  heard  the  crowd  outside  scrapin'  against  the 
window  sill.  An'  then  there  come  a  report,  and  the 
room  was  filled  with  smoke,  an'  somethin'  hit  the 
back  of  my  head.  How  I  got  out  I  do  n't  know,  but 
when  I  come  to  myself  I  was  running  for  dear  life 
across  the  common.  I  have  the  scar  of  the  ghost's 
bullet  ever  since.  See  here,  yez  can  see  it  for  your- 
selves." And  taking  off  his  cap,  Shamus  showed  us 
a  bald  spot  about  the  size  of  a  silver  dollar  on  the 
back  of  his  cranium. 

"And  what  became  of  the  pig?"  asked  Mr.  Colon 
quietly. 

"  Faith,  an'  my  cousin  carried  him  home  next 
morning,"  replied  Shamus,  with  a  regretful  sigh; 
"and  lady  Dobeen,  bless  her  sowl,  never  forgot  to 


154  BUFFALO   LAND. 

tell  me  of  that  to  her  dying  day.  We  were  needin' 
the  bacon  them  times." 

Sachem,  who  delighted  to  spoil  our  cook's  stories, 
declared  that,  to  gain  a  pig,  it  was  worth  the  cousin's 
while  to  fire  an  old  musket  through  the  window  over 
a  drunken  Irishman  inside.  Still  that  did  not  excuse 
him  for  his  carelessness;  he  should  have  seen  that 
the  wad  flew  higher. 

What  Dobeen's  answer  might  have  been  will  never 
be  known ;  for,  just  at  that  moment,  the  attention  of 
the  entire  party  was  suddenly  directed  to  a  dark  mass 
of  moving  objects  away  off  upon  our  right,  a  mile 
distant  at  least,  and  to  our  untrained  eyes  entirely 
unrecognizable.  The  Mexicans,  however,  pronounced 
them  buffaloes.  Whether  thinking  to  vindicate  his 
reputation  for  personal  courage,  or  whether  simply 
from  love  of  excitement,  is  not  exactly  clear,  but 
Dobeen  eagerly  requested  permission  to  pursue  them, 
and  as  he  would,  ex  officio^  he  debarred  the  pleasure 
of  future  sport,  consent  was  given.  This  was  done 
the  more  readily,  because  we  knew  that  Shamus, 
while  as  inexperienced  in  the  chase  as  any  of  us, 
was  also  a  wretched  rider;  for,  although  constantly 
boasting  of  the  tournaments  he  had  been  engaged  in, 
we  all  indorsed  Sachem's  opinion,  that,  if  ever  con- 
nected with  such  an  affair  at  all,  it  must  have  been  in 
holding  a  horse,  not  riding  one. 

It  was  worthy  of  note  that  every  one  of  the  party 
was  as  eager  for  the  chase  as  Shamus,  and  yet  that 
personage  was  allowed  to  ride  off  alone.  Mr.  Colon, 
it  is  true,  essayed  to  join  his  company,  but  after 
going  a  hundred  yards  or  so,  suddenly  changed  his 


A   SUDDEN   CHANGE   IN   AFFAIRS.  155 

mind  and  came  back.  Our  maiden  efforts  in  buffalo 
hunting  promised  such  modesty  as  to  refuse  a  public 
appearance,  unless  together. 

Our  cook  had  been  instructed  by  the  guide  to  avail 
himself  of  the  ravines,  and  after  getting  as  near  the 
herd  as  possible,  then  spur  rapidly  up  to  it.  He 
went  off  at  a  gallop,  his  solid  body  flying  clear  of 
the  saddle  whenever  the  donkey's  feet  struck  ground, 
and  soon  disappeared  in  a  ravine  which  seemed  to 
promise  a  winding  way  almost  into  the  very  midst 
of  the  herd.  We  watched  intently  for  his  reappear- 
ance. In  such^periods  of  suspense  the  minutes  seem 
strangely  long,  creeping  as  slowly  toward  their 
allotted  three-score  as  they  do  when  one,  at  a  sick- 
bed vigil,  listens  for  the  funeral  chimes  of  the  clock, 
telling  when  the  minutes  are  buried  in  the  hours. 

At  length,  in  the  far  away  distance,  we  descried 
Shamus,  disdaining  further  concealment,  riding  gal- 
lantly out  of  the  ravine  for  a  charge.  A  few  mo- 
ments more  and  game  and  hunter  were  face  to  face, 
and  we  held  our  breath,  expecting  to  see  the  dark 
cloud  dash  away  with  our  bloodthirsty  cook  at 
its  skirts.  "As  I  am  alive,"  suddenly  ejaculated 
Muggs,  "Dobeen's  coming  this  way,  at  a  bloody 
good  run,  and  the  buffalo  after  him!"  We  could- 
scarcely  believe  our  eyes,  but,  sure-  enough,  it  was  a 
clear  case  of  pursuer  and  pursued,  with  the  appro- 
priate positions  entirely  reversed.  Shamus  seemed 
imitating  that  famous  hunter  who  brought  home  his 
bear-meat  alive,  preceding  it  by  only  half  a  coat-tail. 
But  the  game  before  us  was  changing  in  appearance 


156  BUFFALO    LAND. 

most  wonderfully.  It  seemed  bristling  with  un 
usually  long  horns,  and  as  we  looked  the  dark  cloud 
suddenly  spread  out  into  a  fan-like  shape,  and  we  all 
cried,  simultaneously,  "Indians!" 

There  they  were,  a  party  of  our  red  brethren 
bearing  rapidly  down  upon  us  in  pursuit  of  Dobeen, 
whose  arms  and  legs  were  playing  like  flails  on  his 
donkey's  sides,  with  an  appeal  for  speed  which  had 
evidently  called  into  action  all  the  reserves  of  that 
true  conservative. 

Our  party  would  have  sold  out  their  interest  in 
the  plains  for  a  bagatelle.  Our  whole  outfit  had 
whirled,  like  a  weather-cock,  and  was  pointing  back 
to  Hays.  The  Mexicans  were  already  dodging  m 
and  out  among  their  oxen,  and  firing  their  old  mus- 
kets furiously,  although  the  foe  was  yet  a  fair  cannon- 
shot  away.  Shamus  could  not  Avell  have  been  in 
more  danger  from  foes  behind  than  he  was  from 
friends  before ;  indeed,  he  afterward  said  that  ask- 
ino-  deliverance  from  the  latter  made  him  almost  for- 
get  the  former. 

The  horses  of  both  Sachem  and  Muggs  ran  away, 
taking  a  straight  line  for  the  distant  town.  This 
caused  a  general  stampede  on  the  part  of  all  the 
other  horses,  much  to  the  regret  of  their  riders,  who 
were  thus  cruelly  prevented  from  a  proper  display  of 
latent  prowess  in  rendering  protection  to  the  wagons 
and  our  cook.  From  the  former  came  a  steady  cannon- 
ade. Squirming  like  eels  among  their  oxen,  the  Mexi- 
cans fired  from  under  the  animals'  bellies,  astride  the 
tongue,  from  anywhere,  indeed,  that  furnished  a  barri- 
cade between  the  distant  Indians  and  themselves. 


iKMiliiiJilii,^ 


A  PARLEY  WITH  SAVAGES.  159 

It  is  one  of  the  remarkable  tactics  of  tliis  remark- 
able people,  in  military  emergencies,  that  when  they 
can  not  put  distance  between  them  and  the  enemy, 
they  must  substitute  something  else.  A  single  trooper, 
on  an  open  plain,  could  send  a  small  army  of  them 
scampering  off,  but  let  them  get  behind  a  barricade, 
and  they  will  continue  banging  away  with  their  old 
muskets  until  either  the  weapon  bursts  or  ammuition 
gives  out.  It  is  surprising  how  harmless  their  fusil- 
lades generally  are.  If  Mexican  powder  is  used,  it 
goes  off  like  a  mixture  of  lamp-black  and  nitro- 
glycerine, with  a  premonitory  fiz  and  then  a  fearful 
concussion,  leaving  a  smell  of  burnt  oil  in  the  air 
which  overcomes  for  a  moment  the  natural  aroma  of 
the  warriors  themselves. 

But  while  we  were  still  being  run  away  w^ith  by 
our  spirited  animals,  another  change  occurred  in  the 
situation  equally  as  unexpected  as  the  first.  The  In- 
dians had  stopped  running  about  the  time  that  we  com- 
menced, and  now  stood  in  a  dusky  line  something  less 
than  half  a  mile  off,  making  signs  to  us.  Shamus 
evidently  considered  it  a  horrible  incantation  for  his 
scalp,  and  every  time  he  looked  backward  plied  with 
renewed  fervor  at  his  donkey's  ribs.  Our  guide,  who 
had  stayed  with  the  w^agons  and  exerted  himself  to 
silence  the  Mexican  batteries,  motioned  us  to  return, 
which  we  were  finally  enabled  to  do  by  virtue  of 
steady  pulling  upon  one  rein  and  coming  back  in  half 
circles. 

By  the  time  our  cook  reached  us,  out  of  breath 
and  perspiring  terribly,  two  savages  had  rid- 
den   out   from   their   band,    weaponless,   and   were 


160  BUFFALO   LAND. 

now  gesturing  a  wish  to  communicate.  The  Pro- 
fessor and  our  guide  rode  to  meet  them,  ap- 
parently unarmed ;  but  with  characteristic  exhibition 
of  the  white  man's  subtlety,  the  tail-pocket  of  the 
philosopher's  coat  held  a  pistol  in  reserve,  and  the 
guide,  I  have  no  doubt,  was  equally  well  provided. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

WHITB  WOLF,  THE  CHEYENNE  CHIEF — HUNGRY  INDIANS — RETURN  TO  HAYS — A 
CHEYENNE  WAR  PARTY — THE  PIPE  OF  PEACE — THE  COUNCIL  CHAMBER — WHITH 
wolf's  SPEECH,  AS  RENDERED  BY  SACHEM — THE  WHITE  MAN's  WIGWAM. 

ABOUT  midway  between  our  party  and  the 
dusky  group  that  stood  watching  us  the  four 
embassadors  met.  The  Indians  proved  to  be  a  band 
of  Cheyennes,  under  White  Wolf,  or,  as  he  is  more 
frequently  called,  Medicine  Wolf,  out  on  the  war- 
path against  the  Pawnees.  The  Wolf  was  a  fine- 
looking  man,  six  feet  four  in  height,  straight  as 
an  arrow,  and  developed  like  a  giant.  Being  a  chief, 
he  possessed  the  regalia  and  warranty  deed  of  one, 
consisting  of  a  ragged  military  coat  without  any  tail, 
and  a  dirty  letter  from  some  Indian  agent,  with  a  lie 
in  it  over  which  even  a  Cheyenne  must  have  smiled, 
telling  how  White  Wolf  loved  the  whites.  Perhaps 
he  did ;  his  namesake  loves  spring  lamb. 

Our  guide  was  an  indifferent  interpreter,  but  had 
no  difficulty  in  understanding  that  the  Indians  were 
hungry  and  wished  something  to  eat.  In  all  my  ex- 
perience from  that  day  to  this  I  have  never  found  an 
Indian  who  was  not  hungry,  except  once.  The  ex- 
ception was  an  old  fellow  who,  although  enough  of  an 
Indian  to  be  habituallv  drunk,  was  so  deo-enerate  a 
specimen  in  other  res^^ects  as  to  be  somewhat  dys- 
peptic.    His  stomach  had  repudiated,  after  receiving 

(161) 


162  BUFFALO   LAND. 

a  deposit  from  a  trader  of  one  hundred  pickled 
oysters,  and  had  temporarily  closed  its  doors.  His 
stock  of  gastric  juices  seemed  to  have  been  well-nigh 
bankrupted  by  a  fifty  years'  discounting  of  jerked 
buflfalo.  The  one  hundred  tons  of  this  compound  which 
the  noble  warrior  had  dissolved  would  have  exhausted 
the  liquid  of  a  tannery.  Let  these  savages  of  the 
plains  meet  a  wdiite  man,  whenever  or  wherever  they 
may,  their  first  demand  is  always  for  meat  and  drink, 
followed  not  unfrequently  by  another  for  his  scalp. 
The  victim  may  have  but  a  day's  rations,  and  be  a 
hundred  miles  from  any  station  where  more  can  be 
obtained,  but  his  all  is  taken  as  greedily  and  remorse- 
lessly as  if  he  commanded  a  commissary  train. 

The  Professor  and  our  guide  motioned  White  Wolf 
and  his  companion  to  wait,  and  rode  back  to  us  for 
the  purpose  of  casting  up  our  account  of  ways  and 
means.  The  only  chance  of  balancing  it  seemed  to 
be  by  sight  draft  on  Shamus'  wagon  or  an  entry  of 
war.  We  dare  not  refuse  them  and  go  on ;  they 
would  be  sure  to  dog  our  steps,  and  at  the  first  con- 
venient opportunity  attack  and  probably  murder  us. 
Shamus,  with  recovered  courage,  stoutly  protested 
against  a  raid  upon  his  department.  ^'  To  think,"  he 
expostulated,  "of  the  swate  sausage  and  ham  bein* 
used  to  wad  such  painted  carcasses  as  them  divils ! " 
The  guide  suggested  as  the  best  alternative  that  we 
should  invite  the  Indians  to  return  with  us  to  Hays. 
We  caught  at  the  idea  and  adopted  it  immediately ; 
and  while  the  guide  rode  back  as  the  bearer  of  our 
invitation,  we  "stood  to  arms,"  awaiting  the  result 
with  silent  but  ill-concealed  solicitude. 


MOMENTS  OF    SUSPENSE.  163 

Should  the  Indians  consider  it  an  attempt  to  trap 
them,  our  bones  might  have  an  opportunity  to  rest  in 
some  neighboring  ravine  until  the  ready  spades  of 
some  future  geological  expedition  should  disturb  them, 
and  we  be  at  once  reconstructed  into  some  rare  species 
of  ancient  ape  or  specimens  of  extinct  salamanders. 
Or,  if  happily  resurrected  at  a  somewhat  earlier 
period,  might  not  some  enterprising  Barnum  of  the 
twentieth  century  place  on  our  bones  the  seal  of  cen- 
turies, and  lay  them  with  the  mummies  in  his  show- 
cases ?  Our  expedition  was  partly  intended  for  diving 
into  the  past,  but  not  quite  so  deep  or  so  permanent  a 
dive  as  that.  What  wonder  that  incipient  ague-chills 
played  up  and  down  and  all  about  our  spinal  column, 
as  we  reflected  how  completely  we  were  dependent  on 
the  caprice  of  those  Native  Americans  sitting  out 
there,  in  half-naked  dignity,  on  their  tough  ponies  ? 
Or  that  we  gazed  anxiously  at  the  huge  chief  as  he 
sat,  silent  and  motionless,  awaiting  the  approach  of 
our  guide  ? 

Our  ideas  of  the  savage  had  been  so  thoroughly 
Cooperised  during  boyhood,  that  when  our  guide  ap- 
proached the  Wolf,  and,  with  a  gesture  to  the  south, 
invited  him  back  to  Hays,  I  was  prepared  to  see  the 
tall  form  straighten  in  the  saddle,  and  pictured  to  my 
imagination  some  such  specimen  of  untutored  elo- 
quence as  this : 

*'  Pale-face,  the  blood  of  the  Cheyenne  burns  quick. 
He  meets  you  trailing  like  a  serpent  across  his  war- 
path, seeking  to  steal  treasures  from  the  red  man's 
land.     He  asks  food,  and  you  tell  him  to  come  into 


164  BUFFALO   LAND. 

your  trap  and  get  it.  Pale-faces,  remove  your  hats ; 
noble  Cheyennes,  remove  their  scalps !  " 

]N"othing  of  this  kind  occurred,  however.  Our  guide 
informed  us  that  the  bold  savage  simply  fastened  one 
button  of  his  tailless  coat,  grunted  out  "  Ugh ! "  in  a 
satisfied  way,  and  motioned  his  band  to  follow.  This 
they  did,  and  we  were  soon  retracing  our  steps  to 
Hays;  by  the  guide's  advice,  making  the  savages 
keep  a  fair  distance  behind  us. 

The  roofs  of  Hays  glistened  across  the  ]Dlains,  as 
they  say  those  of  Damascus  do  in  the  East.  We  had 
formed  a  boy's  romantic  acquaintance  with  that  land, 
where  the  sun  burns  and  the  simooms  frolic,  and  once 
were  quite  enamored  of  its  w^ild  Bedouins  of  the  de- 
sert. Our  manhood  was  now  experiencing  the  sensa- 
tion of  seeing  a  tribe  fiercer  than  their  eastern  breth- 
ren, not  exactly  at  our  doors,  because  we  had  none, 
but  following  very  closely  at  our  heels. 

As  our  strange  cavalcade  re-entered  the  town  the 
people  stopped  to  gaze  a  moment,  and  then  came  out 
to  meet  us.  JS'ews  flew  to  the  fort,  and  some  of  the 
officers  rode  over.  The  Land  Company's  office  was 
selected  for  a  council  room,  the  Cheyennes  tying  their 
ponies  to  the  stage  corral  near.  The  Indians  were  a 
strange-looking  crew.  Sachem  declared  them  all  wo- 
men, and  Dobeen  affirmed  that  they  looked  more  like 
a  covey  of  witches, than  warriors.  With  their  long- 
hair divided  in  the  middle,  and  falling,  sometimes  in 
braids  and  again  loosely,  over  their  shoulders,  and 
their  blankets  hanging  around  them,  they  did  really 
look  much  like  the  traditional  squaw  who  so  kindly 
assists  one  in  cutting  his  eye-teeth  at  Niagara  Falls, 


THE  PERSONNEL  OF  OUR  VISITORS.  165. 

with  her  sharp  practice  and  cheap  bead-work.  Their 
faces  were  as  smooth  as  a  woman's,  without  the  least 
trace  of  either  mustache  or  whiskers ;  so  that,  alto- 
gether, when  we  essayed  to  pick  out  some  females,  we 
got  completely  "  mixed  up,"  and  were  at  length  forced 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  majestic  White  Wolf 
was  traveling  over  the  plains  with  a  copper-colored 
harem. 

Cooper  having  told  us  that  the  Indian  term  of  re- 
proach is  to  be  or  to  look  like  a  woman,  we  avoided 
offense  and  the  "  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune " 
which  an  Indian  is  so  dexterous  in  using,  and  gained 
the  information  desired  by  addressing  a  direct  inquiry 
to  White  Wolf,  through  the  interpreter,  whether  he 
had  any  squaws  along.  He  replied  by  holding  up 
two  fingers  and  pointing  out  the  couple  thus  designa- 
ted. We  tried  to  find,  first  in  their  features  and  then 
in  their  clothing,  some  distinguishing  characteristic 
but  found  it  impossible ;  so  that  when  they  changed 
positions  an  instant  afterward,  I  was  entirely  at  a 
loss  to  recognize  them  again. 

All  had  extremely  uninviting  countenances,  any 
one  of  which  would  have  sufficed  to  hang  three  ordi- 
nary men,  and  a  common  villainy  made  them  as 
much  alike  as  forty-six  nutmegs.  White  Wolf  alone 
differed  in  appearance.  He  was  stoutly  built,  as  well 
as  tall  and  straight,  with  broad  features,  the  bronze 
of  his  complexion  merging  almost  into  white,  and  he 
smiled  pleasantly  and  readily.  The  others  were  no 
more  able  to  smile  than  Satan  himself,  the  expression 
which  their  faces  assumed  when  attempting  it  being 
simply  diabolical.     Dobeen  was  so  startled  by  one 


166  BUFFALO   LAND. 

who  tried  that  contortion  on  and  asked  for  "  tobac," 
that  he  retreated  in  disorder  from  the  council-cham- 
ber. 

White  Wolf  and  the  more  important  members  of 
his  band  took  the  chairs  proifered  them,  and  sat  in  a 
circle,  the  Professor,  Sachem,  and  two  leading  citizens 
of  Hays  being  sandwiched  in  at  proper  intervals. 
The  object  of  the  gathering  was  gravely  announced 
to  be  that  the  Indians  might  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace 
with  the  towns-people.  As  war  was  a  chronic  pas- 
sion with  these  wild  horsemen  of  the  plains,  none  of 
them  had  ever  been  near  the  place  in  friendly  mood 
before,  and  the  novelty  of  the  occasion,  therefore, 
brought  the  entire  population  around  the  building. 
The  postmaster  o^  Hays,  Mr.  Hall,  had  once  traded 
among  the  Cheyennes  and,  understanding  their  sign- 
language,  acted  as  interpreter.  This  curious  race  has 
two  distinct  ways  of  conversing — one  by  mouth,  in  a 
singularly  unmusical  dialect,  and  the  other  by  mo- 
tions or  signs  with  the  hands.  The  latter  is  that 
most  generally  understood  and  employed  by  scouts 
and  traders. 

One  of  the  Indians  now  took  from  a  sack  a  red-clay 
pipe,  with  a  ridiculously  long  bowl  and  longer  shank, 
and  inserted  into  it  a  three-foot  stem,  profusely  orna- 
mented with  brass  tacks  and  a  tassel  of  painted 
horse  hair.  This  was  handed  to  White  Wolf,  together 
with  a  small  bag  of  tobacco,  in  which  the  Killikinnick 
leaves  had  been  previously  crumbled  and  mixed. 
These  were  a  bright  red,  evidently  used  for  their 
fragrance,  as  they  only  weakened  the  tobacco  without 
adding  any  particular  flavor.     We  were  struck  with 


THE  PROFESSOK  IN  A  DILEMMA.  169 

the  Indian  mode  of  smoking.  The  chief  took  a  few 
quick  whiifs,  emitting  the  fumes  with  a  hoarse  blow- 
ing like  a  miniature  steam-engine.  He  then  passed 
it,  mouth-piece  down  so  that  the  saliva  might  escape, 
and  it  commenced  a  slow  journey  around  the  circle. 
When  it  reached  our  worthy  professor  he  found  him 
self  in  a  sore  dilemma.  'No  smoke  had  ever  curled 
along  the  roof  of  his  mouth,  or  made  a  chimney  of 
his  geological  nose.  For  an  instant  the  philosophei 
hesitated ;  then,  reflecting  that  passing  the  pipe  would 
be  worse  than  choking  over  it,  the  excellent  man 
put  the  stem  to  his  mouth  and  gave  a  pull  which 
must  have  filled  the  remotest  corner  of  his  lungs 
with  Killikinnick.  Grasping  amid  the  stifling  cloud, 
it  poured  from  both  mouth  and  nose,  and  called  on 
the  way  at  his  stomach,  which  gave  unmistakable 
symptoms  of  distress.  We  feared  that  he  would  be 
forced  to  forsake  the  council,  but,  with  an  eflbrt  worthy 
of  the  occasion  and  himself,  he  kept  his  seat,  and 
opening  wide  his  mouth,  waited  patiently  until  the 
fiend  of  smoke  had  withdrawn  from  his  interior  its 
trailing  garments. 

The  council  disappointed  us.  In  White  Wolf  we 
had  found  as  fine-looking  an  Indian  as  ever  murdered 
and  stole  upon  his  native  continent.  His  people  were 
first  in  war,  first  to  break  peace,  and  the  last  to  keep 
it,  their  excuse  being  that  the  white  man  trespassed 
on  their  hunting  grounds.  We  had  rather  expected 
that  burly  form  to  rise  from  his  seat,  and,  with  flash- 
ing eyes,  utter  then  and  there  a  flood  of  aboriginal 
eloquence :  "  White  man,  your  people  live  where  the 
sun  rises,  ours  where  it  sets.     When  did  you  ever 


170  BUFFALO   LAND. 

come  to  us  hungry  and  be  fed,  or  clothed  and  go 
away  so,"  and  so  on  ad  infinitum.  Instead  of  all 
this  there  was  a  tremendous  smoking  and  grunting, 
more  like  a  farmer's  fumigation  of  hogs  than  one  of 
those  pipe-of-peace  councils  which  I  had  so  often 
studied  on  canvas  and  in  books.  I  have  often  re- 
gretted since  that  our  aborigines  can  not  read.  If 
they  could  only  learn  from  the  white  man's  literature 
what  they  ought  to  be,  the  contrast  between  it  and 
what  they  really  are  would  be  so  violent  that  it 
might  make  an  impression,  even  upon  an  Indian. 

For  a  happy  mingling  of  lies  and  truth  our  "  big 
talk"  could  hardly  be  excelled.  A  reporter  could 
have  taken  down  the  proceedings  somewhat  as^  fol- 
lows : 

Scene — Six  Indians  and  as  many  w^hite  men  in  a 
ring.  Postmaster  Hall  in  the  center,  acting  as  inter- 
preter. 

Indian — "Cheyenne  love  white  man  much  (lie). 
Forty-six  warriors  all  hungry  ( truth  ).  Us  good  In- 
dians" (  lie).     And  so  on,  alternately. 

Pale  Brother — "White  man  love  Cheyenne.  Got 
lots  of  food,  but  no  whisky  "  (the  latter  a  lie  which 
almost  choked  the  speaker). 

It  would  not  interest  the  reader  to  know  all  the  re- 
petitions or  nonsense  uttered,  and  we  spare  him  the 
infliction  of  even  attempting  to  tell  him.  The  In- 
dians had  for  their  object  food,  and  they  got  it.  The 
whites  had  for  their  object  permanent  peace,  and  did 
not  get  it. 

Indue  time  the  council  broke  up,  and  in  an  incredibly 
short  time  thereafter  many  of  the  Indians  were  reel- 


WHITE  WOLF  AT   HOME. 
"  The  red  man  is  noble,  big  injun  is  me." 


WHITE  wolf's  speech  IN  VERSE.  173 

ing  drunk.  That  White  Wolf  did  not  become  equally 
so  was  owing  altogether  to  his  being  a  man  of  iron 
constitution.  Any  thing  but  metal,  it  seemed  to  me, 
must  have  been  burnt  out  by  the  fiery  draughts  which 
we  saw  the  noble  chief  take  down.  A  tin  cupful  of 
"whisk,"  such  as  would  have  made  the  cork  in  a  bot- 
tle tight,  was  tossed  off  without  a  wink. 

Sachem,  who  took  notes,  rendered  White  Wolf's 
speech  at  the  council  in  verse,  as  follows : 

White  brother,  have  pity ;   the  White  Wolf  is  poor, 
The  skin  of  his  belly  is  shrunk  to  his  back ; 

A  gallon  of  whisky  is  good  for  a  cure, 

If  followed  by  plenty  of  "  bacon  and  tack.*' 

The  red  man  is  noble,  big  Injun  is  me : 
Like  berries  all  crimson  and  ready  to  pick. 

The  scalps  on  my  pole  are  a  heap  good  to  see — 
Good  medicine  they  when  poor  Injun  is  sick. 

The  red  man  is  truth,  and  the  white  one  is  lies ; 

The  first  suffers  wrong  at  hand  of  the  other ; 
The  way  they  skin  us  is  good  for  sore  eyes. 

The  way  we  skin  them  astonishing,  rather. 

They  rob  us  of  guns  and  offer  us  plows, 

And  tell  us  to  farm  it,  to  go  into  corn; 
We  're  good  to  raise  hair,  and  good  to  raise  rows, 

And  good  to  raise  essence  of  corn — in  a  horn. 

Go  back  to  your  cities  and  leave  us  our  home. 

Or  off  with  your  scalp  and  that  remnant  of  shirt ; 

Go,  let  the  poor  Injun  in  happiness  roam, 
And  live  on  his  buffalo,  puppies,  and  dirt. 


174  BUFFALO   LAND. 

Two  or  three  of  the  Indians  mounted  their  ponies 
and  took  a  race  through  the  streets.  The  animals  were 
thin,  despondent  brutes,  but  as  wiry  as  if  their  hides 
were  stuifed,  like  patent  mattresses,  full  of  springs. 
The  Indians,  as  is  their  universal  custom,  mounted 
from  the  right  side,  instead  of  the  left  as  we  do.  At 
the  lower  end  of  the  street  they  got  as  nearly  in  line 
as  their  inebriated  condition  would  permit,  and  when 
the  word  was  given  set  off  toward  us  with  frightful 
shouts,  which  made  the  ponies  scamper  like  so  many 
frightened  cats. 

The  animal  which  came  out  ahead  had  no  rider 
to  claim  the  honors,  that  blanketed  jockey  having 
fallen  off  midway.  He  was  now  sitting  on  his  hams, 
looking  the  wrong  way  down  the  track,  and  evi- 
dently adding  up  the  "book"  which  he  had  made 
for  the  race.  As  he  soon  arose,  with  a  dissatisfied 
grunt,  we  thought  his  figures  probably  read  about 
as  follows : 

Given — A  gallon  of  Hays  whisky  in  the  saddle, 
and  a  race-horse  under  it.  Endeavor  to  divide  the 
latter  by  a  rawhide  whip,  and  the  result  is  a  sore- 
headed  Indian,  who  stands  forfeit  to  his  peers  for 
"the  drinks." 

As  we  wandered  back  to  the  council-chamber,  the 
scene  there  had  changed  somewhat.  White  Wolf 
had  been  transformed  into  a  cavalry  colonel,  and 
was  strutting  around  with  two  gilt  eagles  on  his 
broad  shoulders,  looking  fully  as  important  as  many 
a  real  colonel  whom  we  have  caught  in  his  pin 
feathers  and,  withal,  much  more  of  the  hero.  Our 
warrior  had  seen  some  of  the  ofiicers  from  the  fort 


INDIAN  WHIPS.  175 

strolling  around,  and  straightway  fell  to  coveting  his 
neighbors'  straps,  which  observing,  Sachem  at  once 
purchased  from  a  store  the  emblems  of  power  and 
pinned  them  upon  him.  He  whispered  to  us  that 
when  White  Wolf  took  his  first  step  as  a  colonel,  it 
had  been  accompanied  by  a  snort  of  pain,  the  unlucky 
slipping  of  a  pin  having  evidently  conveyed  to  the 
chief  the  idea  that  one  of  the  eagles  had  grasped 
his  shoulder  in  its  talons. 

The  chief  modestly  requested  similar  honors  for 
his  "papoose,"  and  that  individual  was  treated  to  the 
straps  of  a  captain.  A  different  application  of  strap, 
it  occurred  to  me,  would  have  seemed  more  proper 
upon  the  six  feet  of  unpromising  humanity  which 
appeared  above  the  "papoose's"  moccasins. 

It  had  been  a  matter  of  surprise  to  us  how  the 
Indians  could  make  such  inferior  looking  stock  as 
theirs  capable  of  such  speed  and  extraordinary  jour- 
neys ;  but  it  ceased  to  excite  our  wonder  after  an 
examination  of  their  whips.  These  ingenious  instru- 
ments of  torture  have  handles,  which  in  form  and 
size  resemble  a  policeman's  club.  To  one  end  are 
attached  some  thongs  of  thick  leather,  half  a  yard  in 
length,  and  to  the  other  g^  loop  of  the  same  material, 
just  large  enough  to  go  over  the  hand  and  bind 
slightly  on  the  wrist.  Dangling  from  the  latter,  the 
handle  can  be  instantly  grasped,  and  the  body  of 
thongs  brought  down  on  the  pony's  skin,  with  a 
crack  like  a  flail  on  the  sheaves,  and  the  result  is 
what  Sachem  called  an  astonishing  "  shelling  out " 
of  speed. 

We   explained  to   White  Wolf   that    Tammany 


176  BUFFALO   LAND. 

Sachem  was  one  of  many  great  chiefs  who  had  a 
mighty  wigwam  in  the  big  city  of  the  pale-faces,  far 
away  toward  the  rising  sun ;  that  they  were  all  good 
men,  and  never  lied  like  the  chiefs  of  the  Cheyennes, 
or  took  any  thing  belonging  to  others ;  and  that  their 
women,  instead  of  carrying  heavy  burdens,  spent  all 
their  time  in  distributing  the  money  and  goods  of  the 
big  wigwam  to  the  needy. 

White  Wolf  signified,  through  the  interpreter, 
that  such  a  wigwam  was  too  good  for  earth,  and 
ought  to  be  pitched  on  the  happy  hunting  grounds 
as  soon  as  possible. 

Sachem  thought  the  savage  meant  to  be  sarcastic. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


ABKS   OP    A   WAR   PARTY — A  DONKBY    PRESENT BATING  POWERS  OF  THE  NOMADS — 

SATANTA,    HIS   CRIMES   AND   PUNISHMENT RUNNING   OFF    WITH  A  GOVERNMENT 

HERD — DAUB,  OUR   ARTIST — ANTKLOPB    CHASE    BY    A    GREYHOUND. 


AT  our  request  White  Wolf  and  two  of  his  braves 
gave  us  a  display  of  their  skill — or  rather, 
their  strength — in  the  use  of  their  bows,  shooting 
their  arrows  at  a  stake  sixty  yards  off.  The  efforts 
were  what  would  be  called  good  "  line  shots," 
although  missing  the  slender  stick.  We  then  es- 
sayed a  trial  with  the  chief's  bow,  which  was  an 
exceedingly  stout  hickory  wrapped  in  sinew,  but  we 
found  that  more  practiced  strength  than  ours  was 
required  even  to  bend  it.  Some  amusement  was 
created  when  the  first  of  our  party  took  up  the  bow, 
by  the  haste  with  which  a  small  and  unusually  ugly 
Indian  retreated  from  the  foreground  as  if  fearing 
that  an  arrow  might  be  accidentally  sent  through 
his  blanket. 

Among  the  stock  which  the  savages  had  brought 
with  them  was  a  long-eared,  diminutive  brute,  scar- 
cely higher  than  a  table,  and  apparently  forming  the 
connecting  link  between  a  jackass  rabbit  and  a  don- 
key. This  animal  White  Wolf  seemed  extremely 
anxious   to   present  to    the   Professor,   but   it   was 

(177) 


178  BUFFALO   LAND. 

politely  declined,  by  the  advice  of  the  interpreter, 
who  explained  to  us  that  a  return  gift  of  the  don- 
key's weight  in  sugar  and  coffee  would  be  expected. 
^N'otwithstanding  the  stringency  of  the  law  forbid- 
ding the  sale  of  whisky  and  ammunitions  to  the 
Indians,  the  savages  found  little  difficulty  in  filling 
themselves  with  fire-water,  and  also  got  a  little  powder. 
White  Wolf  went  off  with  his  pocket  full  of  car- 
tridges in  exchange  for  some  Indian  commodities, 
but  the  cunning  pale  face  rendered  them  of  little 
value  by  selecting  ammunition  a  size  too  small  for 
the  gun. 

The  eating  powers  of  these  nomads  are  marvelous. 
We  saw  the  chief,  inside  of  two  hours,  devour  three 
^earty  dinners,  one  of  which  was  gotten  up  from  our 
own  larder  and  was  both  good  and  plentiful.  As  he 
did  full  justice  to  every  invitation  to  eat  and  drink, 
we  concluded  that  he  would  continue  to  accept  during 
the  whole  afternoon,  if  the  opportunity  were  only 
offered  him.  What  a  capital  minister  to  England 
was  here  wasting  his  gastric  juices  on  the  desert 
air !  If  Great  Britain  should  continue  her  hesitation 
to  digest  our  Alabama  claims,  the  wolf  at  their  door 
would  digest  enough  roast  beef  to  bring  them  to 
terms  or  starvation.  Sugar,  coffee,  spices,  pickles, 
sardines,  ham,  and  many  another  luxury  of  civiliza- 
tion, were  alike  welcome  at  the  capacious  portal  of 
the  untutored  savage.  Dobeen  discovered  him  eat- 
ing a  can  of  our  condensed  milk  under  the  impres- 
sion that  it  was  a  sweet  porridge. 

Their  entertainment  at  the  town  being  concluded, 
the  Indians  were  conducted  over  to  the   fort  and 


A   QUESTION   COJSCEJINING   CIRCULATION.         179 

some  rations  given  them.  They  manifested  an 
especial  fondness  for  sugar,  but  took  any  thing  they 
could  get,  their  ponies  proving  capable  of  carrying 
an  unlimited  number  of  sacks.  It  seemed  as  difficult 
to  overload  these  animals  as  it  is  a  Broadway  omni- 
bus; and  their  riders,  perhaps  in  order  to  avoid  be- 
ing top  heavy,  took  freight  for  the  inside  whenever 
opportunity  offered.  As  they  came  back  through  the 
town,  we  all  turned  out  to  see  them  off.  The  band 
promised  us  peace,  notwithstanding  which  it  was  no 
small  satisfaction  to  discover  that  they  were  poorly 
armed.  Bows  and  arrows  were  the  only  weapons 
which  all  possessed,  and  while  a  few  had  revolvers, 
the  chief  alone  sported  a  rifle,  a  rusty-looking  old 
breech-loader. 

As  our  late  cavalry  escort  rode  off,  their  attitudes 
plainly  bespoke  that  they  had  been  raiding  upon 
more  than  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt.  Sons  of  the  sandy- 
complexioned  desert,  we  saw  several  of  them  kiss 
their  mother  before  they  got  out  of  sight.  The  most 
serious  question  with  us  now  was  whether  or  not  these 
red  gormandizers  had  been  uttering  peace  notes  not 
properly  indorsed  by  their  hearts.  The  trouble  is 
that  when  one  discovers  a  circulation  of  this  kind, 
his  own  ceases  about  the  same  instant,  and  his  bones 
become  a  fixed  investment  in  the  fertile  soil  of  the 
plains. 

One  of  the  officers  of  the  fort  told  us  an  amusing 
instance  of  the  impudent  treachery  of  which  the 
western  Indians  of  to-day  are  sometimes  guilty.  A 
year  or  two  before,  when  Hancock  commanded  the 
Department  and  was  encamped  near  Fort  Dodge,  on 


180  BUFFALO   LAND. 

the  Arkansas,  Satanta  and  his  band  of  Kiowas  came 
in.  This  chief  has  always  been  known  as  very  hos- 
tile to  the  whites,  usually  being  the  first  of  his  tribe 
to  commence  hostilities.  He  was  the  very  embodi 
ment  of  treachery,  ferocity,  and  bravado.  Phreno- 
logically  considered,  his  head  must  have  been  a  cra- 
nial marvel,  and  the  bumps  on  it  mapping  out  the 
kingdom  of  evil  a  sort  of  Rocky  Mountain  chain 
towering  over  the  more  peaceful  valleys  around. 
Viewed  from  the  towering  peaks  of  combativeness 
and  acquisitiveness  the  territory  of  his  past  would 
reveal  to  the  phrenologist  an  untold  number  of  gov- 
ernment mules,  fenced  in  by  sutler's  stores,  while 
bending  over  the  bloody  trail  leading  back  almost 
to  his  bark  cradle,  would  be  the  shades  of  many 
mothers  and  wives,  searching  among  the  wrecks  of 
emigrant  trains  for  flesh  of  their  flesh  and  bone  of 
their  bone. 

Satanta  was  long  a  name  on  the  plains  to  hate  and 
abhor.  He  was  an  abject  beggar  in  the  pale  faces' 
camp  and  a  demon  on  their  trail.  On  the  occasion  in 
question  he  came  to  Gen.  Hancock  with  protestations 
of  friendship,  and,  although  these  were  not  believed, 
he  was  treated  precisely  as  if  they  had  been.  To 
gratify  his  love  of  finery  an  old  military  coat  with 
general's  stars,  said  to  be  one  that  Hancock  himself 
had  cast  ofi^,  w^as  presented  him.  By  some  meails  he 
also  acquired  a  bugle,  and  the  garrison  were  greatly 
amused  for  the  remainder  of  the  day  by  seeing 
Satanta  galloping  back  and  forth  before  his  band, 
blowing  his  bugle  and  parading  his  coat,  the  warriors 
all  cheering  the  old  cut-throat  and  proud  as  himself 


satanta's  last  atrocity.  181 

of  the  display.  The  way  he  handled  that  bugle, 
however,  before  the  next  morning  was  by  no  means 
so  amusing. 

Some  time  before  dawn  the  sleepy  garrison  were 
aroused  by  the  thunders  of  a  stock  stampede,  and  out 
of  the  darkness  came  the  clatter  of  hoofs,  as  Satan ta 
and  his  band  departed  for  the  south  with  a  goodly 
herd  of  government  mules  and  horses.  Pursuit  was 
commenced  at  once,  with  the  hope  of  cutting  them  off 
before  they  could  get  the  stock  across  the  Arkansas, 
then  somewhat  swollen.  Just  as  the  troops  reached 
the  bank  of  that  stream,  a  major-general's  uniform 
was  seen  going  out  of  the  water  upon  the  other  side. 
Notwithstanding  its  high  rank  fire  was  instantly 
opened  upon  it,  but  ineffectually.  The  savage  turned 
a  moment,  blew  a  shrill,  defiant  blast  upon  his  bugle, 
and  galloped  off  in  safety.  Too  much  promotion 
made  him  mad.  As  a  simple  chief,  he  might  have 
stolen  some  straggling  teams ;  as  a  major-general,  he 
appropriated  a  whole  herd. 

During  the  next  eighteen  months,  Satan t a  had 
several  encounters  with  the  troops,  generally  wearing 
the  major-general's  coat  and  blowing  his  bugle.  His 
last  exploit,  which  brought  the  long  hesitating  sword 
of  justice  upon  his  head,  is  too  fresh  and  too  painful 
to  be  soon  forgotten.  A  few  months  ago  the  savage 
chief  was  living  with  his  people  on  a  reserve  in  the 
Indian  Territory  and  being  fed  by  the  government. 
Gathering  a  few  of  his  warriors  he  stole  forth,  and, 
crossing  the  Texas  border,  surprised  a  wagon  train, 
murdered  the  teamsters,  and  drove  off  the  mules. 
Fortunately,  Gen.  Sherman,  in  his  examination  of 


182  BUFFALO    LAND. 

frontier  posts,  happened  to  be  near  the  scene  of  mur- 
der, and  at  once  ordered  troops  in  pursuit.  They 
were  still  trailing  the  marauders  when  Satanta  re- 
turned to  the  reservation  at  Fort  Sill,  and  with  bold 
effrontery  begotten  of  long  immunity,  actually  boasted 
of  the  crime  before  the  Quaker  agent.  "I  did  it,'* 
said  he,  ''  and  if  any  other  chief  says  it  was  him,  tell 
him  he  lies.  I  am  the  man."  Gen.  Sherman  had 
just  arrived,  and  when  Satanta,  with  a  number  of 
minor  chiefs  who  were  with  him  on  the  raid,  came 
into  the  fort  to  trade  and  visit,  they  were  seized  and 
bound,  and  started  for  Texas  under  a  strong  guard, 
to  be  tried  by  the  authorities  there.  On  the  way  one 
of  the  Indians  in  some  manner  loosened  his  bands, 
and  seizing  the  musket  of  the  guard  nearest  him, 
shot  the  soldier  in  the  shoulder,  but  before  he  could 
do  further  harm  the  other  guards  fired,  and  the 
savage  rolled  from  the  wagon  down  upon  the  plain, 
apparently  dead.  The  body  was  afterward  found 
close  by  the  road-side  in  a  position  which  showed  that 
after  falling  the  savage  had  enough  of  vitality  left  to 
enable  him  to  crawl  with  bloody  hands  for  several 
yards.  Finding  the  life-tide  ebbing  fast,  he  had  then 
placed  his  body  in  position  toward  the  rising  sun,  com- 
posed his  arms  by  his  side  and,  with  Indian  stoicism, 
yielded  up  his  breath.  The  remainder  of  the  party, 
including  Satanta,  were  brought  safely  to  Texas,  tried, 
and  sentenced  to  be  hanged. 

Our  adventure  with  White  Wolf  and  his  band 
obliged  us,  of  course,  to  pass  another  night  in  Hays. 
We  spent  a  most  pleasant  hour  during  the  evening 
in  the  office  of  Dr.  John  Moore,  an  old  resident  of 


ANOTHER  START.  183 

Plattsburg,  IN".  Y.,  who  assisted  us  materially  in  select- 
ing medical  stores,  and  who  by  his  genial  disposition 
endeared  himself  to  our  entire  party,  so  that  when 
we  heard  of  his  sad  fate  soon  afterward,  it  seemed  as 
if  death  had  crouched  by  our  own  camp-fire.  Should 
the  Indians  become  troublesome,  there  was  some 
talk  at  the  fort,  he  now  informed  us,  of  organizing 
a  company  for  operations  against  them,  composed 
of  bufiklo  hunters  and  scouts  under  the  lead  of  regular 
ofiicers,  and  in  this  case  it  was  his  purpose  to  accom- 
pany it  in  the  capacity  of  a  surgeon.  As  good  guns 
were  difficult  to  obtain  there,  and  we  had  some  extra 
weapons,  one  of  our  party  loaned  the  doctor  an  im- 
proved Henry  rifle  and  holster  revolvers.  Before  we 
again  heard  of  him,  he  had  crossed  that  shadowy  line 
which  winds  between  the  tombs  and  habitations  of 
men,  and  his  name  was  added  to  the  drearily  long 
list  which  bears  for  its  heading — "Killed  by  In- 
dians." 

Commencing  with  those  first  entries  after  the  May- 
flower introduced  our  fathers  to  savage  audience,  and 
chiseling  separately  each  name  on  a  marble  mile- 
stone, the  white  witnesses  would  girdle  the  earth. 

Sunrise  next  morning  saw  us  again  moving  north- 
ward, fully  determined  that  no  body  of  Indians,  un- 
less comprising  the  whole  Cheyenne  nation,  should 
force  us  back  again.  We  had  met  the  red  man  on 
his  native  heath  and  familiarity  had  bred  contempt. 
All  were  in  excellent  spirits  and  felt  the  braver,  per- 
haps, because  our  late  visitors  had  assured  us  that 
their  tribe  was  on  the  war-path  against  the  Pawnees, 
and  meant  only  peace  with  the  whites. 


184  BUFFALO  la:n^d. 

Our  party  left  Hays  the  second  time  with  quite  an 
acquisition.  On  the  eve  of  starting  we  had  been  ap- 
proached by  an  artist,  who  begged  permission  to  ac- 
company us.  We  assented  on  the  instant.  An  artist 
was,  of  all  others,  the  thing  we  needed.  How  in- 
teresting it  would  be  to  have  the  thrilling  incidents 
of  the  coming  months  sketched  by  our  artist  on  the 
spot.  *'Daub"  was  a  fine-looking  fellow,  with  peaked 
hat,  peaked  beard,  and  peaked  mustache ;  in  short, 
was  of  the  genuine  artist  cut,  of  the  kind  that  are 
always  sitting  around  on  the  stones  in  romantic  places 
and  getting  married  to  heiresses. 

During  the  day  we  saw  many  varieties  of  the  cac- 
tus, some  of  them  very  beautiful.  As  we  had  no  regu- 
lar botanist  with  our  expedition,  Mr.  Colon  developed 
a  taste  in  that  direction,  and  secured  and  deposited 
several  fine  specimens  which  were  carefully  laid  away 
in  Shamus'  wagon.  It  was  not  long  before  that  ex- 
cellent Irishman  gave  a  prolonged  howl,  the  cause  of 
which  he  did  not  vouchsafe  to  tell  us,  but  as  we  saw 
him  cautiously  rubbing  his  pantaloons  we  surmised 
that  he  had  rolled  or  sat  down  upon  a  choice  variety. 
The  remainder  of  the  plants  he  must,  with  still 
greater  caution,  have  dropped  overboard,  as  none 
could  subsequently  be  found  for  boxing.  If  the  truth 
must  be  said,  I  was  not  at  all  sorry  for  it.  I  had 
lent  a  hand  in  obtaining  an  unusually  large  cactus, 
but  the  loan  was  returned  in  such  damaged  condition 
that  I  lost  all  interest  at  once.  The  minute  needles 
which  nature  has  scattered  over  these  plants  will 
pierce  a  glove  readily,  and  burrow  in  the  flesh  like 


THE  GREYHOUND  IN  ACTION.  185 

trichina.     The  cactus  may  be  set  down  as  Dame  Na- 
ture's pin-cushions. 

Endless  prairie-dog  villages  covered  the  country, 
and  occasionally  cayotes,  about  the  size  of  setters, 
with  brushy,  fox-like  tails,  started  out  of  ravines  and 
ran  off  with  a  hang-dog  sort  of  look,  stopping  occa- 
sionally to  see  if  they  were  being  pursued.  Our  guide 
ran  one  of  these  down  with  his  horse  and  it  was  al- 
most with  sympathy  that  we  watched  the  tired  wolf, 
when  he  found  running  useless,  dodging  between  the 
horse's  legs,  rendering  the  rider's  aim  false.  It  was 
finally  dispatched  by  a  greyhound.  The  latter  de- 
served his  name  only  from  courtesy  of  species,  as  his 
color  was  inky  black.  He  belonged  to  one  of  our 
hostlers,  who  got  him  from  a  Mexican  train-master, 
and  was  a  wonderful  fighter.  I  saw  him  afterward 
in  combats  with  not  only  the  cayote,  but  the 
large  timber  wolf,  and  in  every  instance  he  came  off 
the  victor.  On  one  occasion,  I  remember,  he  whipped 
the  combined  curs  of  a  railroad  tie  camp,  making 
every  antagonist  take  to  his  heels.  Very  nearly  as 
high  as  a  table,  with  powerful  chest  and  immense 
spring,  the  hound's  movements  were  like  flashes 
of  light.  He  danced  round  and  over  his  foe,  his 
fangs  clicking  like  a  steel  trap,  first  on  one  side  and 
now  on  the  other,  and  again,  ere  his  enemy  had  closed 
its  jaws  on  the  shadow  in  front,  he  was  at  the  rear 
I  have  seen  a  gray  wolf  bleeding  and  helpless,  and 
the  hound  untouched,  after  a  half  hour's  combat. 

On  the  north  fork  of  Big  Creek  we  frightened  a 
dozen  antelopes  out  of  the  brakes,  and  had  a  fine 
opportunity  of  witnessing  a  chase  by  the  hound  which 


186  BUFFALO   LAND. 

alone  was  worth  a  journey  to  the  plains  to  see.  I 
remember  having  been  very  much  interested,  when  a 
boy,  in  reading  accounts  of  gazelle  hunting  in  the 
Orient,  where  hawks  and  dogs  are  both  used.  The 
former  pounce  down  from  the  air  on  the  fleet-footed 
victim's  head,  compelling  it  to  stop  every  few  mo- 
ments to  shake  its  unwelcome  passenger  off,  and  the 
dogs  are  thus  enabled  to  overtake  it.  This  always 
seemed  to  me  a  cowardly  sort  of  sport.  The  harm- 
less victim  of  the  chase,  who  can  not  touch  the  earth 
without  its  turning  tell-tale  to  the  keen-scented  pur- 
suer, should  not  be  robbed  of  his  only  refuge,  speed, 
or  the  pursuit  becomes  butchery. 

The  American  antelope  upon  our  plains  is  what 
the  gazelle  is  upon  those  of  Africa.  Timid  and  fleet, 
it  often  detects  and  avoids  danger  to  which  its  pow- 
erful neighbor,  the  buflPalo,  falls  a  victim.  The  group 
which  we  had  frightened  bounded  away  with  an  elas- 
ticity as  if  nature  had  furnished  them  hoofs  and  joints 
of  rubber.  There  was  no  apparent  efibrt  in  their  mo- 
tion, and  we  imagined  larger  powers  in  reserve  than 
really  existed.  As  the  greyhound  slowly  gained 
upon  them,  we  noticed  this,  and  the  Professor  there- 
upon delivered  what  Sachem  aptly  styled  a  running 
discourse. 

"  Gentlemen,  poetry  of  motion,  perhaps  by  poeti- 
cal license,  gives  exaggerated  ideas  of  force.  A 
smooth-running  engine,  though  taxed  to  its  utmost 
capacity,  seems  capable  of  accomplishing  more,  while 
its  wheezing  neighbor,  groaning  and  straining  as  if 
on  the  verge  of  dissolution,  has  abundant  powers  in 
reserve.     Some  Hercules  may  lift  a  weight  on  which 


AN  ANTELOPE   CHASE.  187 

a  straw  more  would  seem  to  him  large  enough  to  sus- 
tain the  traditional  drowning  man.  The  feat  marks 
itself  by  a  life-long  backache,  but,  if  he  has  performed 
it  gracefully,  he  bears  with  it  a  reputation  for  a  fab- 
ulous reserve  of  power,  the  exhibition  seeming  but 
the  safety  valve  to  his  supposed  giant  forces  strug- 
gling for  expression." 

Our  learned  friend  seldom  found  us  less  attentive 
than  then.  All  the  wagons  were  stopped,  and  from 
every  elevation  upon  them  we  looked  out  over  the 
solitudes  at  the  race  going  on  before  us.  Pursuer  and 
pursued  were  pitting  against  each  other  the  same 
quality — speed.  There  was  no  lying  in  ambush  or 
taking  unawares.  The  fleetest-footed  of  game  was 
flying  before  the  swiftest  of  dogs.  There  could  be 
no  trailing,  as  these  hounds  run  only  by  sight.  What 
a  straining  of  muscles !  The  low  ridge  barely  lifting 
the  animals  against  the  horizon,  their  legs,  from  rap- 
idity of  motion,  were  invisible,  and  the  bodies,  for  a 
short  space,  seemed  floating  in  air.  It  was  one  short, 
black  line,  running  rapidly  into  twelve  gray  ones, 
these  latter  resolving  occasionally  into  as  many  balls 
of  white  cotton,  when  the  pufiy,  rabbit-like  tails  of  the 
antelopes  were  turned  toward  us.  Two  of  the  best 
mounted  horsemen  from  our  party  had  started  with 
the  chase,  but  seemed  scarcely  moving,  so  rapidly 
were  they  left  behind. 

Twice  we*  thought  the  hound  had  closed,  but  in- 
stantly succeeding  views  showed  daylight  still  be- 
tween, although  the  narrow  strip  was  being  blotted 
out  with  the  same  regular  certainty  with  which  the 

dark  slide  of  the  magic  lantern  seizes  the  figures  on 
10 


188  BUFFALO   LAND. 

the  wall.  Down  into  a  ravine,  and  out  of  sight  they 
passed,  and  we  were  fearing  the  finale  would  be  hid- 
den, when  they  came  into  view  on  the  opposite  side 
and  pressed  up  the  bank.  The  bounds  of  the  hound 
were  magnificent,  and  w^e  all  gave  a  cry  of  admira- 
tion, as  with  a  splendid  effort  he  launched  himself 
like  a  black  ball  upon  the  herd.  In  an  instant  after 
we  saw  him  hurled  back  and  taking  a  very  unvic- 
tor-like  roll  down  the  hill.  He  quickly  recovered, 
however,  and  fastened  on  an  antelope  which  seemed 
lagging  behind.  His  first  selection,  the  leader  of  the 
herd,  had  proved  an  unfortunate  one,  and  he  bore 
a  bruise  for  some  time  where  the  buck  had  struck 
him  with  his  horns. 

The  second  seizure  turned  out  to  be  a  doe,  and 
was  quite  dead  when  we  reached  it.  The  victor  was 
lying  along  side,  looking  very  much  as  if  one  ante- 
lope hunt  a  day  was  sufficient  for  even  a  greyhound. 
We  noticed  that  the  hair  was  rubbed  off  from  the 
doe's  sides  by  its  struggles,  and  on  passing  our  hands 
over  the  neck  found  that  its  coarse  coat  parted  from 
the  skin  at  a  slight  touch.  This  peculiarity  in  the 
antelope  is  very  marked.  In  a  subsequent  hunt  I 
once  saw  a  wounded  buck  plunge  forward,  roll  along 
the  ground  for  a  few  feet,  and  then  run  off  with  the 
bare  skin  along  his  entire  side  showing  just  where 
he  had  struck  the  earth. 

One  of  our  party  produced  a  knife,  and  the  animal 
was  bled  and  the  entrails  taken  out.  We  seemed 
destined  to  have  a  mishap  with  every  adventure,  and 
had  already  learned  to  expect  such  sequences,  the 
only  question  being  whose  turn  should  come  next. 


CYNOCEPHALUS  ON  THE  RAMPAGE.      189 

This  time  it  proved  to  be  Semi-Colon's.  We  were  a 
mile  from  the  wagons,  and  Semi's  horse,  being  con- 
sidered the  most  thoroughly  broken,  was  nominated 
to  bear  the  game  to  them.  To  this  proceeding  C^mo- 
cephalus  seemed  in  nowise  indisposed,  quietly  sub- 
mitting to  the  management  of  one  of  the  hostlers  and 
our  guide,  as  they  lashed  the  antelope  across  his 
back,  securing  it  to  the  rear  of  the  large  Texas  saddle 
with  the  powerful  straps  which  always  hang  there 
for  purposes  of  this  kind.  This  accomplished,  Semi 
elim.bed  into  the  saddle,  gave  a  click  and  a  kick,  and 
set  his  steed  in  motion.  That  eccentric  assemblage 
of  bones  made  one  spasmodic  step  forward,  which 
brought  the  bloody,  hairy  carcass  with  a  swing 
against  his  loins. 

What  a  change  that  touch  produced !  Those  wasted 
nostrils  emitted  a  terrific  snort,  the  stiff  stump-tail 
jerked  upward  like  the  lever  of  a  locomotive,  and 
with  a  dart  Cynocephalus  was  off  across  the  plains. 
He  probably  imagined  that  some  beast  of  prey  had 
coveted  his  spare-ribs,  and  was  whetting  its  teeth  on 
the  vantage-ground  of  his  backbone.  Occasionally 
the  frightened  animal  would  slack  up  and  indulge  in 
a  fit  of  kicking,  looking  back  meanwhile  with  terror 
at  the  object  fastened  upon  his  hide,  then  plunge 
frantically  forward  again.  The  antelope  stuck  to 
the  saddle  for  some  time,  but  not  so  Semi-Colon. 
The  first  of  these  irregular  proceedings  caused  that 
young  man,  as  Sachem  expressed  it,  "  to  get  off  upon 
his  head."  Cynocephalus  finally  burst  his  saddle- 
girths,  and  we  were  obliged  to  furnish  other  trans- 
portation for  our  game. 


190  BUFFALO   LAND. 

Let  me  say,  en  jpassant,  that  I  am  trying  to  cliroii- 
icle  minutely  the  events  which  befel  our  half-scien- 
tific, half-sporting,  and  somewhat  incongruous  party 
on  its^trip  through  Buffalo  Land ;  and,  although  my 
readers  may  think  us  particularly  unfortunate,  we 
really  suffered  no  more  than  amateurs  usually  do. 
My  object  is  to  set  up  guide  boards  at  the  dangerous 
places,  that  other  travelers  may  avoid  the  pitfalls 
and  the  perils  into  which  we  fell.  And  to  every 
amateur  hunter  we  beg  to  offer  this  advice :  Never 
tie  dead  game  upon  a  strange  horse  unless  you  owe 
the  rider  a  grudge. 

"  Young  men,"  said  the  Doctor,  from  his  saddle, 
"you  have  seen  a  beautiful  illustration  in  the  theory 
of  development.  The  hound  and  the  antelope  may 
have  been  originally  an  oyster  and  a  worm.  From 
their  first  slow  motion,  when  one  only  opened  its 
jaws  to  seize  the  other,  they  have  progressed  until 
the  speed  of  to-day  results.  Should  the  hound  ever 
become  wild,  and  pursuit  and  flight  change  to  an 
every-day  matter  instead  of  a  holiday-sport,  develop- 
ment would  still  continue.  A  giraffe-like  antelope, 
with  the  speed  of  the  wind,  would  fly  before  a  hound 
the  size  of  a  stag."  The  Doctor's  "clinic,"  as 
Sachem  called  it,  was  suddenly  cut  short  at  this 
point  by  a  struggle  for  mastery  between  himself  and 
the  human  spirit  concealed  in  his  horse. 

"  How  much,"  exclaimed  the  Professor,  when  Py- 
thagoras had  at  length  come  off  triumphant,  and  we 
again  moved  forward — "  How  much  the  race  that  we 
have  witnessed  is  like  that  we  all  run.  Powerful  and 
eager  as  the  greyhound,  man  sees  flying  before  him, 


THE  PROFESSOR  MORALIZES.         191 

on  the  plain  of  life,  an  object  which  he  thirsts  to  grasp. 
Taxing  every  muscle  in  pursuit,  panting  after  it  over 
the  smooth  country  below  the  40th  mile-post,  he 
crosses  there  the  ravine  where  rheumatism  and 
straggling  gray  hairs  lurk,  and  with  these  clinging 
to  him,  starts  up  the  hill  of  later  life.  Half-way  to 
its  summit,  on  which  the  three-score  stone  marking 
the  down-hill  grade  looks  uncomfortably  like  that 
over  a  tomb,  he  seizes  the  object  of  pursuit  only  to 
be  flung  back  by  it  bruised.  If  of  the  proper  metal, 
he  falls  but  to  rise  again,  and  should  the  first  wish 
be  out  of  reach,  fastens  on  one  of  its  companions. 
There  is  where  blood  tells.  If  the  least  taint  of  cur 
is  in  it  the  first  blow  sends  its  recipient  yelling  to 
his  kennel,  there  to  whine  for  the  remainder  of  life 
over  bruised  ribs." 

Muggs  thought  a  single  toss  was  sufficient,  and 
retreat  then  only  prudence.  If  the  bones  on  one  side 
were  broken,  he  saw  no  reason  to  expose  the  other. 
Dying  successful  w^as  only  procuring  meat  for  others 
to  enjoy. 

The  Professor  was  developing  a  remarkable  talent 
for  finding  not  only  the  stones  of  the  past  written  all 
over  with  a  wonderful  and  translatable  history,  but 
also  the  moral  connected  with  each  incident  of  our 
journey.  Had  any  of  us  broken  our  necks  he  would 
doubtless  have  improved  the  occasion  to  draw  a  com- 
parison and  have  made  it  the  text  of  a  philosophic 
disquisition. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

CHARACTER   OF    THB    PLAINS — BUFFALO  BILL  AND  HIS   HORSB   BRIGHAM — TIffi   GUIDU 
AND   SCOUT   OF    ROMANCE — CAYOTB    VERSUS   JACKASS-RABBIT — A   LAWYER-LIKB 

RESCUE OUR  CAMP  ON  SILVER  CREEK UNCLE  SAM's  BUFFALO  HERDS TURKBT 

SHOOTING OUR  FIRST  MEAL  ON  THB  PLAINS — A  GAME  SUPPER. 

OUR  trail  was  taking  us  west  of  north,  ?,nd  we  ex- 
pected to  reach  the  Saline  about  dusk  and  there 
encamp.  The  same  strange  evenness  of  country  sur- 
rounded us.  Over  its  surface,  smooth  and  firm  as  a 
race  track,  we  could  drive  a  wagon  or  gallop  a  horse 
in  any  direction.  Even  the  Bedouin  has  no  such  field 
for  cavalry  practice — his  footing  being  shifting  sand, 
while  ours  was  the  compact  bufiklo  grass,  so  short 
that  its  existence  at  all  could  scarcely  have  been  de- 
tected a  few  yards  away.  Sachem  said  he  could  think 
of  no  such  cavalry  field  except  that  of  his  boyhood, 
when  he  slipped  into  the  parlor  and  pranced  his  rock 
ing-horse  over  the  soft  carpet;  with  which  memory, 
he  added,  was  coupled  another,  to  the  efi^ect  that 
while  thus  skirmishing  on  dangerous  ground,  his 
cavalry  was  attacked  from  the  rear  by  heavy  infantry 
and  badly  cut  up. 

Numerous  buffalo  trails  crossed  our  path,  running 
invariably  north  and  south.  This  is  caused  by  the 
animals  feeding  from  one  stream  to  another,  the  water 
courses  following  the  dip  of  the  country's  surface 

(192) 


PRE-HISTORIC   RESTAURANTS.  193 

from  west  to  east.  Wallows  were  also  very  numer- 
ous, and  we  noticed  as  a  peculiarity  of  these,  as  well 
as  the  paths,  that  the  grass  killed  by  treading  and 
rolling  does  not  renew  itself  when  the  spots  are  aban- 
doned. More  than  once  on  the  Grand  Prairie  of 
Illinois  I  have  seen  these  wallows,  made  before  the 
knowledge  of  the  white  man,  still  remaining  destitute 
of  grass. 

An  old  bull  who  has  been  rolling  when  the  wallow 
is  muddy,  is  an  interesting  object.  The  clay  plastered 
over  and  tangled  in  his  shaggy  coat  bakes  in  the  sun 
very  nearly  white;  and  this  it  was,  probably,  that 
gave  rise  to  the  early  traditions  of  white  buifalo. 

Wherever  on  our  route  the  rock  cropped  out  along 
creeks  or  in  ravines,  it  was  the  white  magnesia  lime- 
stone, and  so  soft  as  to  be  easily  cut.  Further  west 
alternate  pink  and  white  veins  occur,  giving  the  stone 
a  very  beautiful  appearance.  We  frequently  found 
on  the  rocks  and  in  the  ravines  deposits  of  very  per- 
fect shells,  apparently  those  of  oysters.  Sachem  sug- 
gested that  they  marked  the  location  of  pre-historic 
restaurants — the  Delmonicos  of  the  olden  time,  say 
fifty  thousand  years  before  the  Pharaohs  were  born. 
He  thought  it  possible  that  some  future  quarry- 
man  might  blast  out  an  oyster-knife  and  money  pot 
of  quaint  coins. 

Muggs  thought  this  patch  of  our  continent  resem- 
bled Australia — "  'Not  that  it  is  as  rich,  you  know, 
but  there's  so  much  of  it."  He  even  became  enthu- 
siastic enough  to  affirm  that  the  land  might  be  made 
profitable,  "if  some  Hinglish  sheep  and  'eifers  were 
put  on  it,  you  see." 


194  BUFFALO   LAND. 

The  Professor  assured  us  that  the  country  around 
was  equal  to  the  plains  of  Lombardy  in  point  of 
fertility,  and  as  the  soil  was  of  great  depth,  and  rich 
in  the  proper  mineral  properties,  it  would  undoubt- 
edly become  before  1890  the  great  wheat-producing 
region  of  the  world. 

Our  party  fell  into  silence  again,  and,  having  noth- 
ing else  to  interest  me  at  the  moment,  I  resumed  my 
study,  which  this  episode  had  interrupted,  of  Buffalo 
Bill,  our  guide.  Athletic  and  shrewd,  he  rode  ahead 
of  us  with  sinews  of  iron  and  eye  ever  on  the  alert, 
clad  in  a  suit  of  buckskin.  His  mount  was  a  tough 
roan  pony  which  he  had  named  Brigham  and  of 
which  he  seemed  very  fond.  Nevertheless,  this  fond- 
ness did  not  prevent  hard  riding,  and  when  I  last  saw 
Brigham,  several  months  afterward,  he  was  a  very 
sorry-lboking  animal,  insomuch  that  I  concluded  not 
to  have  his  photograph  taken  as  that  of  a  model  steed 
for  Buffalo  Land,  as  I  once  contemplated  doing. 

It  was  extremely  fortunate  for  us  that  we  had 
secured  Cody  as  guide.  The  whole  western  country 
bordering  on  the  plains,  as  we  afterward  learned, 
from  sorry  experience,  is  infested  with  numberless 
charlatans,  blazing  with  all  sorts  of  hunting  and 
fighting  titles,  and  ready  at  the  rustle  of  greenbacks 
to  act  as  guides  through  a  land  they  know  nothing 
about.  These  reprobates  delight  in  telling  thrilling 
tales  of  their  escapes  from  Indians,  and  are  con- 
stantly chilling  the  blood  of  their  shivering  party  by 
pointing  out  spots  where  imaginary  murders  took 
place.  Without  compasses  they  would  be  as  hope- 
lessly lost  as  needleless  mariners.     I  have  my  doubts 


WANTED   AT    THE    FRONT.  195 

if  one-third  of  these  terribly  named  bullies  could  tell, 
on  a  pinch,  where  the  north  star  is.  Unless  they 
chanced  to  strike  one  of  the  Pacific  lines  which  stretch 
across  the  plains,  a  party,  under  their  guidance,  wish- 
ing to  go  west  would  be  equally  liable  to  get  among 
the  JS'orthern  Siouxs  or  the  Ku-Klux  of  Arkansas. 

A  thousand  miles  east  Young  America's  cherished 
ideal  of  the  frontier  scout  and  guide  is  an  eagle-eyed 
giant,  with  a  horse  which  obeys  his  whistle,  and 
breaks  the  neck  of  any  Indian  trying  to  steal  him.  In 
addition  to  its  wonderful  master,  the  back  of  this  mod- 
el steed  is  usually  occupied  by  a  rescued  maiden.  At 
risk  of  infringing  on  the  copyrights  of  thirty-six  thou- 
sand of  the  latest  Indian  stories,  we  have  obtained  from 
an  artist  on  the  spot  an  illustration  of  the  last  heroine 
brought  in  and  her  rescuer,  the  rare  old  plainsman.* 

Cody  had  all  the  frontiersman's  fondness  for  prac- 
tical jokes,  and  delighted  in  designating  Mr.  Colon 
as  "  Mr.  Boston,"  as  if  accidentally  confounding  the 
residence  with  the  name.  In  one  instance,  with  a  cry 
of  "  Come,  Mr.  Boston,  here's  a  specimen ! "  he  en- 
ticed the  philanthropist  into  the  eager  pursuit  of  a 
beautiful  little  animal  through  some  rank  bottom 
grass,  and  brought  the  good  man  back  in  such  a  con- 
dition that  we  unanimously  insisted  on  his  traveling 
to  leeward  for  the  rest  of  the  day. 

While  we  thus  journeyed,  and,  in  traditional 
traveler's  style,  mused  and  pondered,  Shamus  came 
running  back  to  say  that  we  were  wanted  in  front. 
*'Such  a  goin'  on  in  the  ravine  bey  ant  as  bates  a 
witch's  dance  all  holly !  "  We  saw  that  the  forward 
wagons    had    halted    and    the    men    were    peering 

*  See  illustration  on  page  137. 


196  BUFFALO   LAND. 

cautioush^  over  the  edge  of  the  highland  into  the 
valley  of  Silver  Creek,  which  stream  wound  along 
below,  entirely  out  of  sight  until  one  came  directly 
upon  it.  In  this  lonely  land,  the  pages  of  whose  his- 
tory Time  had  so  often  turned  with  bloody  fingers,  an 
event  slight  as  even  this  was  startling.  That  hollow 
in  the  plain  before  us  seemed  to  yawn,  as  if  awaking 
in  sleepy  horrors,  and  we  noticed  a  general  tighten- 
ing of  reins  and  rattling  of  spurs.  This  maneuver 
was  executed  to  prevent  our  horses  running  away 
again  and  thus  rendering  us  incapable  of  supporting 
our  advanced  guard.  If  savages  were  around,  our 
provisions  must  be  protected,  and  we  at  once  dis- 
mounted and  scattered  among  the  teams  in  such  a 
way  as  to  offer  the  most  successful  defense. 

Our  fears  were  groundless.  In  a  few  moments 
Cody  came  galloping  back  on  Brigham,  and  said 
briefly  that  we  should  lose  a  fine  lesson  in  natural 
history  unless  we  hurried  to  the  front.  Truth  com- 
pels me  to  say  that  we  did  not  hanker  after  a  close 
acquaintance  with  Lo  on  the  rampage;  yet  we  did 
earnestly  desire  to  improve  every  opportunity  of 
studying  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  plains,  and  a 
few  moments  accordingly  found  our  whole  party  peer- 
ing over  the  edge  of  the  bluff  into  the  valley  below. 

There,  on  a  patch  of  bottom  grass,  half  a  dozen  elk 
were  feeding;  a  short  distance  away,  a  small  herd  of 
wild  horses  drank  from  the  brook ;  while  in  a  ravine 
immediately  in  front  of  us,  three  cayotes  were  at- 
tempting to  capture  a  jackass-rabbit.  What  a  wealth 
of  animal  life  this  valley  had  opened  to  us.  From 
our  own  level  the  table-lands  stretched  away  in  all 


'iBSliilSinfc.. 


THE   SCENE    TERMINATED.  199 

directions  until  striking  its  grassy  waves  against 
the  horizon,  with  not  a  shrub,  tree,  or  beast  to  re- 
lieve the  clearly-cut  outlines.  Casting  our  eyes  up- 
ward, the  bVight  blue  sky,  clear  of  every  vestige  of 
clouds,  arched  down  until  resting  on  our  prairie  floor, 
and  not  even  a  bird  soared  in  the  air  to  charm  the 
profound  space  with  the  eloquence  of  life.  Casting 
our  eyes  downward,  the  earth  was  all  astir  with  the 
activity  of  its  brute  creation. 

Before  we  could  make  any  effort  at  capture,  the 
elk  and  horses  winded  us  and  fled  away  toward  the 
opposite  ridges,  where  stalking  them  would  have 
been  exceedingly  difficult,  if  not  impossible.  Lead- 
ing the  mustangs  was  a  large  black  stallion,  which 
kept  its  position  by  pacing  while  the  others  ran. 
Buffalo  Bill  said  this  was  an  escaped  American  horse 
which  had  fled  to  solitude  with  the  rider's  blood  upon 
his  saddle.  We  noted  the  statement  as  one  for  future 
elucidation  at  our  camp-fire.  The  rabbit  chase  in  the 
ravine  continued,  and  we  watched  it  unseen  for 
several  minutes.  The  wolves  were  endeavoring  to 
surround  their  victim,  and  cut  in  ahead  of  it  when- 
ever he  attempted  to  get  out  of  the  ravine.  Although 
such  odds  were  against  him,  the  rabbit  had  thus  far 
succeeded  by  superior  speed  and  quick  dodging  in 
evading  his  enemies ;  but  escape  was  hopeless,  as  he 
was  hemmed  in  and  becoming  exhausted.  These 
tireless  wolves,  cowardly  creatures  though  they  are, 
might  worry  to  death  an  elephant.  A  few  shots  ter- 
minated this  scene,  driving  off  the  wolves,  but  killing 
the  rabbit  for  whose  protection  they  were  fired.  The 
Professor  remarked  that  this  was  like  a  lawyer's  res- 


200  BUFFALO   LAND. 

cue.  He  sometimes  friglitens  away  tlie  persecutors, 
but  the  charges  generally  kill  the  client. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  of  my  readers  who  have 
never  seen  a  member  of  that  unfortunate  rabbit 
family  which  has  been  christened  by  such  a  humili- 
ating given  name,  I  would  state  that  the  species  is 
remarkable  for  its  very  long  ears,  and  very  long  legs. 
If  the  reader,  being  a  married  man,  desires  a  picto- 
rial representation  of  this  animal,  let  him  draw  a  don- 
key a  foot  high  on  the  wall,  and  if  his  wife  does  not 
interrupt  by  drawing  a  broomstick,  he  may  be  satis- 
fied that  his  work  is  well  done,  and  a  life-size  jackass- 
rabbit  will  stand  out  before  him. 

A  mile  from  the  scene  of  this  adventure  Silver 
Creek  joined  the  Saline,  and  at  the  junction  it  was 
determined  to  make  our  camp.  We  descended 
among  heavy  "brakes,"  staying  our  loaded  wagons 
with  ropes  from  behind.  Immense  quarries  of  the 
soft,  white  limestone  rose  from  the  valley's  bed  to 
the  level  of  the  plains  above,  and  the  rains  of  cen- 
turies had  fashioned  out  pillars  and  arches,  giving 
them  the  appearance  of  ancient  ruins  staring  down 
upon  us.  Mr.  Colon  picked  up  a  fine  moss  agate 
and  the  Professor  a  Kansas  diamond.  Under  the 
surface  of  the  former  were  several  figures  of  bushes 
and  trees,  outlined  as  distinctly  as  the  images  one  sees 
blown  into  glass.  The  diamond  was  as  large  as  a 
hazel  nut  and  as  clear  as  a  drop  of  pure  water,  so 
that,  notwithstanding  its  size,  ordinary  print  could  be 
easily  read  through  it.  Had  it  possessed  a  hardness 
corresponding  with  its  beauty,  the  Professor  could 


UNCLE  SAMUEL  IN  A  BALLOON.  ~      201 

have  enriched  with  it  half  a  dozen  scientific  institu- 
tions. Such  stones  now  command  a  fair  market 
value  among  travelers,  and  are  generally  mounted  in 
rich  settings  as  souvenirs  of  their  trips. 

A  picturesque  group  of  some  half-dozen  oaks  of- 
fered a  good  camping  spot,  and  around  it  the  wagons 
were  placed  for  the  night  in  a  half-circle,  the  ends  of 
the  crescent  resting  each  side  of  us  upon  the  creek. 
The  rule  of  the  plains  is,  "  In  time  of  peace  prepare 
for  war." 

Northward  from  us,  and  distant  perhaps  fifty  yards, 
rippled  the  clear  waters  of  the  Saline,  which  was  then 
at  a  low  stage.  High  above  it  was  the  table-land  of 
the  plains,  and  the  edge  of  this,  as  far  as  we  could 
trace  it,  was  dotted  with  the  dark  forms  of  countless 
buifalo.  So  distant  as  to  appear  diminutive,  their 
moving  seemed  like  crawling,  and  the  back-ground 
of  light  grass  gave  them  i^uch  the  appearance  of  bees 
upon  a  board.  They  were  crowding  up  to  the  very 
edge  of  the  valley  of  the  Saline,  from  whence,  as  we 
were  told,  they  extended  back  to  the  Solomon,  thence 
to  the  Republican,  and  at  intervals  all  the  way  north- 
ward to  the  remote  regions  of  the  Upper  Missouri. 

Could  the  venerable  Uncle  Samuel  go  up  in  a  balloon 
and  take  a  thousand  miles'  view  of  his  western  stock 
region,  he  would  perceive  that  his  goodly  herds  of 
bison,  some  millions  in  number,  feeding  between  the 
snows  of  the  North  and  the  flowers  of  the  South,  were 
waxing  fat  and  multiplying.  This  latter  fact  might 
somewhat  surprise  him,  when  he  discovered  around 
his  herd  a  steady  line  of  fire  and  heard  its  continual 
snapping.     The  unsophisticated  old  gentleman  would 


202  BUFFALO   LAND. 

see  train  after  train  of  railroad  cars  rustling  over  the 
plains,  every  window  smoking  with  the  bombardment 
like  the  port-holes  of  a  man-of-war.  He  would  see 
Upper  Missouri  steamers  often  paddling  in  a  river 
black  with  the  crossing  herds,  and  pouring  wanton 
showers  of  bullets  into  their  shaggy  backs.  To  the 
south  Indians  on  horseback,  to  the  north  Indians  on 
snow  shoes,  would  meet  his  astonished  gaze,  and 
around  the  outskirts  of  the  vast  range  his  white  chil- 
dren on  a  variety  of  conveyances,  and  all,  savage 
and  civilized  alike,  thirsting  for  buffalo  blood.  That 
the  buffalo,  in  spite  of  all  this,  does  apparently  con- 
tinue to  increase,  shows  that  the  old  and  rheumatic 
ones,  the  veteran  bulls  which  in  bands  and  singly 
circle  around  the  inner  herds  of  cows  and  calves,  are 
the  ones  that  most  commonly  fall  the  easy  victims  to 
the  hunters.  Their  day  has  passed,  and  powder  and 
ball  but  give  the  wolves  their  bones  to  pick  a  little 
earlier. 

Such  were  the  thoughts  that  revolved  in  my  mind 
while  sitting  upon  one  of  the  wagons,  and  dividing 
my  attention  between  the  tent  pitching  going  on 
under  the  trees  and  the  shaggy  thousands  which, 
feeding  against  the  horizon,  seemed  to  grow  larger  as 
the  sun  went  down  behind  them  and  they  stood  out 
in  deepening  relief  in  the  long  autumn  twilight. 
These  solitudes  made  me  think  of  Du  Chaillu  on  the 
African  deserts  when  night  set  in,  and  I  wondered  if 
the  brute  denizens  there  could  be  more  interesting 
than  those  which  surrounded  us.  Had  a  lion  roared,  I 
doubt  whether  it  would  have  struck  me  as  unnatural, 
although  it  might  have  induced  a  speedy  change  of 


A  RAID  ON  THE  WILD  TURKEYS.  203 

base.  It  begets  a  peculiar  feeling  in  one's  mind,  I 
thought,  when  the  lower  brutes  surround  him  and  his 
fellow-creature  alone  is  absent.  Animal  organiza- 
tions are  every-where,  blood  throbbing  and  limbs 
moving,  and  yet  the  world  is  as  solitary  to  him  as  if 
the  planet  had  been  sent  whirling  into  space  and  no 
living  being  upon  it  except  himself.  A  handkerchief, 
a  hat,  any  thing  which  his  brother  man  may  have 
w^orn,  yields  more  of  companionship  than  all  the  life 
around  him. 

And  now,  through  the  trees,  we  saw  several  of  our 
men  running  with  their  ^veapons  in  hand,  and  im- 
mediately afterward  heard  the  rapid  reports  of  their 
revolvers  and  rifles  from  the  creek  just  below,  fol- 
lowed by  the  fluttering,  noisy  exit  of  turkeys  from 
among  the  trees.  Some  flew  away,  but  most  of  them 
were  running,  and,  in  their  fright,  passed  directly 
among  the  wagons.  One  old  gobbler,  with  a  fine 
glossy  tuft  hanging  at  his  breast,  had  a  hard  time  of 
it  in  running  the  gauntlet  of  our  camp-followers, 
narrrowly  escaping  death  by  a  frying  pan  hurled  from 
the  vigorous  grasp  of  Shamus. 

This  class  of  our  game  birds  is  noted  the  continent 
over  for  its  wildness  and  cunning,  these  qualities  fur- 
nishing old  hunters  with  material  for  numberless 
yarns,  as  they  gather  around  the  camp-fires  and 
weave  their  fancies  into  connected  sequence.  Thus 
it  has  become  a  matter  of  veritable  history  that  know- 
ing gobblers  sometimes  examine  the  tracks  that  hunt- 
ers have  left  to  see  which  way  they  are  going. 

On  Silver  Creek  the  turkeys  were  very  tame,  and 
before  it  became  too  dark  for  shooting  our  party  had 


204  BUFFALO   LAND. 

killed  twelve.  Muggs  and  Sachem  had  combined 
their  forces  and  devoted  their  joint  attention  to  one  of 
them  sitting  stuj^idly  on  a  limb,  where  it  received  a 
bombardment  of  five  minutes'  duration  before  coming 
down.  Our  Briton  explained  that  "  the  bird  was  un- 
able to  fly  away,  you  see,  because  I  'it  'im  at  my  first 
shot."  To  this  statement  Sachem  stoutly  demurred 
upon  two  grounds  :  First,  that  Muggs'  gun  had  gone 
oif  prematurely,  the  time  in  question,  and  barely 
missed  one  of  his  English  shoes  ;  and,  second,  that  the 
turkey  showed  but  one  bullet  mark,  and  that  wound 
was  necessarily  fatal,  as  it  had  carried  away  most  of 
the  head !  A  compromise  was  finally  efi^ected,  and 
we  were  much  edified  by  seeing  the  two  coming  into 
camp  with  the  bird  between  them,  sharing  mutually 
its  honors. 

Great  numbers  of  turkeys  seemed  to  inhabit  the 
creek,  all  along  which  we  heard  them,  at  dark,  flying 
up  to  their  roosts.  This  induced  a  number  of  our 
party  to  visit  a  large  oak  scarcely  a  hundred  yards 
from  camp,  which  one  of  our  men  had  marked  as  a 
favorite  resort.  Proceeding  with  the  utmost  caution, 
under  the  dim  shadows  of  approaching  night,  we  pres- 
sently  stood  beneath  the  roost.  Clearly  defined  be- 
tween us  and  the  sky  were  the  limbs,  and  clustering 
thickly  over  them,  like  apples  left  in  fall  upon  a  leaf- 
less tree,  we  could  descry  large  black  balls,  indicating 
to  our  hunger-stimulated  imaginations  as  many  pro- 
spective turkey  roasts.  For  this  special  occasion  our 
only  two  shot  guns  had  been  brought  forth  from  the 
cases,  the  remainder  of  the  party  being  furnished 
with  Spencer  and  Henry  rifles. 


A  FLUTTER  IN  THE   TREE   TOPS.  205 

We  had  been  instructed  each  to  select  our  bird,  and 
fire  at  the  word  to  be  given  by  the  guide.  How  loud 
and  sharp  tho  clicking  of  the  locks  sounded,  in  the 
stillness  of  that  jungle  on  the  plains,  as  six  barrels 
pointed  upward,  but  their  aim  made  all  unsteady  by 
the  thumping  of  as  many  palpitating  hearts.  Then, 
in  a  low  tone,  came  the  w^ords — and  they  seemed 
hoarsely  loud  in  the  painful  silence  around  us — 
"  Ready !  Take  careful  aim ! ''  "  Hold !  "  cried  the 
Professor,  in  a  sudden  outburst  of  enthusiasm ; 
"Gentlemen,  you  see  above  us  thirty  fine  specimens  of 
that  noblest  of  all  American' birds,  the  turkey.  Wisely 
has  it  been  said  that,  instead  of  the  eagle,  the  turkey 
should  have  been  our  National " — "Fire !  "  cried  the 
guide,  in  an  agony,  as  the  Professor,  having  dropped 
his  gun,  was  rising  to  his  feet,  and  the  turkeys, 
alarmed  by  his  eloquence,  were  preparing  for  flight. 

And  fire  we  did.  A  half  dozen  tongues  of  flame 
shot  upward,  and  the  roar  of  our  unmasked  battery 
reverberated  over  the  solitude.  The  rustling  and 
fluttering  among  the  tree  tops  was  terrific,  and  show- 
ers of  twigs  and  bark  rained  down  upon  us.  Every 
one  of  us  knew  that  his  shot  had  told,  yet  for  some 
reason,  perhaps  owing  to  the  superior  cunning  of  the 
birds,  none  fell  at  our  feet.  Before  regaining  the 
wagon,  however,  we  found  fluttering  on  our  path  a  fine 
fat  one  with  a  shattered  second  joint.  It  was  claimed 
by  Sachem,  on  the  ground  that  in  his  aiming  he  had 
made  legs  a  speciality,  not  wishing  to  injure  the 
breasts. 

Later  in  the  season,  when  the  birds  had  become 

mucn  wilder,  I  often  shot  them,  both  running  and 
11 


206  BUFFALO   LAND. 

fl\iiig.  They  are  very  hard  to  kill,  and  a  sorely 
wounded  one  will  often  astonish  the  hunter  by  run- 
ning long  distances,  or  hiding  where  it  seems  impos- 
sible. The  fall  through  the  air,  or  sucl  ion  stop  from 
full  speed  when  running,  are  alike  exciting  spectacles. 
And  the  big  body,  with  red  throat  and  dark  plume, 
luscious  even  to  look  at,  is  fit  game  to  excite  the  pride 
of  any  sportsman. 

The  modes  of  hunting  the  wild  turkey  are  numer- 
ous.* Mounted  on  a  swift  pony  it  is  not  difficult  to 
run  one  down,  as  may  be  done  in  half  an  hour,  the 
birds,  when  pushed,  seeking  the  open  prairie  and  its 
ravines  at  once.  On  foot,  with  a  dog,  they  can  easily 
be  started  from  cover,  and  generally  rise  with  a  tre- 
mendous commotion  among  the  bushes,  when  they 
may  be  brought  down  with  coarse  shot.  Another 
method  of  turkey  shooting,  and  one  that  became 
quite  a  favorite  of  mine,  was  to  steal  out  from  camp 
in  the  gray  of  early  morning — so  early  that  only  the 
tops  of  the  trees  were  visible  against  the  sky — 
provided  with  a  rifle  and  shot  gun  both.  When  the 
birds  have  once  been  hunted,  extreme  caution  is  nec- 
essary to  get  within  seventy  yards  of  them.  Upon  a 
high  bough,  in  the  gloom,  the  old  gobbler  appears 
twice  his  real  size,  looking  as  long  as  a  rail.  Try  the 
ritle  first,  and,  two  chances  out  of  three,  there  is  a 
miss.  Then,  as  the  great  wings  spread  suddenly, 
like  dark  sails  against  the  sky,  and  the  big  body, 
launched  from  the  bough,  shakes  the  tree  top  as  if  a 
wind  was  passing  through  it,  catch  your  shot  gun, 

*The  amateur  sportsman  or  other  reader,  will  find  them  de- 
scribed at  length  in  the  Appendix. 


OUR  FIRST  SUPPER  ON  THE  PLAINS.  207 

and  fire.  In  the  dim  light,  and  at  long  distance,  it 
takes  a  quick  and  true  eye  to  call  from  the  ground 
that  welcome  resound  which  tells  of  game  fallen. 

Under  the  big  oaks,  meanwhile,  our  camp  fire  burned 
brightly,  and  Shamus  was  developing  the  mysteries 
of  his  art.  Roast  turkey  and  broiled  antelope  tempt 
the  pampered  appetites  of  dyspeptic  city  men,  but  here 
in  the  wilderness,  their  fresh  juices,  hissing  from  beds 
of  glowing  coals,  filled  the  air  with  a  fragrance  that 
to  us  was  sweeter  than  roses.  Tired  enough,  after  an 
all  day's  ride,  and  hungry  as  bears  from  twelve  hours 
fasting,  we  sucked  in  the  odors  of  the  cooking  meat, 
as  a  sort  of  aerial  soup,  while  the  Dobeen  stood  an 
aproned  king  of  grease  and  turkey,  with  basting  spoon 
for  scepter,  and  with  it  kept  motioning  back  the 
hungry  hordes  that  skirmished  along  his  borders. 

Two  mess  chests  had  been  placed  a  few  feet  apart, 
with  the  tail-boards  of  our  wagons  connecting  them, 
and  over  this  was  spread  a  linen  table  cloth,  white 
plates,  clean  napkins,  and  bright  knives,  with  salt, 
pepper,  and  butter.  All  were  in  their  accustomed 
places.  This  our  first  meal  on  the  plains  looked  more 
like  an  aristocratic  pic-nic  than  a  supper  in  the  terri- 
tory of  the  buffaloes.  But  the  picture  was  too  bright 
to  last,  and  ere  many  days  neither  napkins  nor  cloth 
could  have  been  made  available  as  flags  of  truce. 

It  is  one  of  those  threadbare  truisms,  adorning 
all  hunting  stories  of  every  age  and  clime,  that  hun- 
ger is  the  best  seasoning.  We  had  an  excess  of  it  on 
hand  just  then,  and  would  willingly  have  shared  it 
with  the  dyspeptic,  bald  headed  young  men  of  Fifth 
Avenue     The  turkey  we  found  fat  and  very  rich  in 


208^  BUFFALO   LAND. 

j9[avor,  and  the  antelope  steaks  more  delicate  than 
venison.  Condensed  milk  supplied  well  the  place  of 
the  usual  lacteal,  and  was  an  improvement  on  the  city 
article,  inasmuch  as  we  knew  exactly  what  quantity 
and  quality  of  water  went  into  it.  We  were  obliged 
to  economize,  however,  respecting  this  part  of  our  sup- 
plies. The  following  entry  in  our  log-book,  by  Sa- 
chem, under  date  of  the  day  preceding  this,  will  ex- 
plain the  reason  :  "  Two  cans  of  milk  stolen,  probably 
by  the  Cheyennes.  Consider  the  article  more  reliable 
for  families  than  city  stump-tail,  requiring  neither 
milking  or  feeding,  and  never  kicking  the  bucket,  or 
causing  infants  to  do  so.  Had  no  idea  that  a  taste  of 
it  would  develop  such  a  talent  for  hooking." 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

L  CAMP-FIRB    SCENE — VAGABONDIZING THE  BLACK   PACER  OF   THE    PLAINS — SOMM 

ADVICE   FROM   BUFFALO   BILL   ABOUT   INDIAN    FIGHTING LO'S  ABHORRENCE   OF 

LONG  RANGE — HIS  DREAD  OF  CANNON AN   IRISH    GOBLIN — SACHEM'S  "  SONG   OP 

SHAMUS." 

HOW  vividly,  When  one  is  fairly  embarked  in  any 
new  enterprise,  do  the  events  of  the  first  night 
impress  one's  imagination,  and  how  indelibly  do  they 
fix  themselves  in  the  memory !  Inside  our  tents  all 
was  clean  and  cheery,  but  as  none  of  us  were  disposed 
to  seek  them  before  a  late  hour,  we  spent  the  evening 
around  our  camp-fires.  Excitement,  for  the  time,  had 
overmastered  our  sense  of  fatigue.  The  Professor's 
notes  were  out,  and,  with  his  feet  to  the  fire  and  a  box 
for  a  desk,  he  looked  more  like  the  Arkansas  traveler 
writing  home,  than  the  learned  savan  committing  to 
paper  the  latest  secrets  wrung  from  nature.  The  re- 
mainder of  our  party  were  scattered  promiscuously 
around  the  fire,  some  seated  on  logs  and  boxes,  the 
others  outstretched  upon  the  grass. 

Tammany  Sachem  was  the  first  to  break  the  si- 
lence. "  Fellow  citizens,"  he  exclaimed,  "  let's  vaga- 
bondize ! "  Xow,  with  our  alderman,  vagabondizing 
meant  story  telling,  an  accomplishment  which  we 
consider  the  especial  forte  of  vagabonds. 

We  all  hailed  this  proposition  gladly,  for  Bufiiilo 
Bill,  stretched  there  before  the  fire,  had  much  of  plain 

(209) 


210  BUFFALO   LAND. 

lore  stored  in  his  active  brain  that  we  wished  to  draw 
out,  and  we  at  once  seized  the  opportunity  to  ask 
about  the  black  pacer  we  had  seen  during  the  after- 
noon, and  his  weird  story  of  the  bloody  saddle. 

From  Bill's  narrative  we  gathered  "the  following: 
Something  over  a  year  before  the  era  of  our  expedition  a 
train  of  government  wagons  left  Fort  Hays  destined  for 
Fort  Harker,  and  the  Indians  being  troublesome,  some 
twenty  soldiers  were  sent  in  the  wagoijs,  as  a  guard. 
A  few  hours  later  there  passed  through  Hays  City  a 
man  from  the  mountains  riding  a  powerful  black  stal- 
lion, while  his  family,  consisting  of  a  young  wife  and 
her  brother,  occupied  a  covered  wagon  which  followed 
close  behind.  The  stranger  determined  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  protection  afforded  by  the  government 
train,  and  the  little  party  pushed  out  after  it  over  the 
plains.  The  day  was  a  sultry  one  in  midsummer,  the 
sun  pouring  down  its  flood  of  heat  on  the  desolate 
surface  of  the  expanse  that  spread  away  on  all  sides. 
The  long  train,  a  full  mile  from  front  to  rear,  dragged 
its  slow  length  sluggishly  along,  the  mules  sleepily 
following  the  trail,  while  the  teamsters  and  soldiers 
dozed  in  the  covered  wagons.  A  driver,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  awake,  saw  in  the  distance  a  beautiful 
mirage,  and  in  it,  as  he  looked,  strange  objects, 
like  mounted  men,  were  bobbing  up  and  down.  But 
then  he  had  often  seen  weeds  and  other  small  ob- 
jects similarly  transformed,  by  these  wonderful  illu' 
sions  of  the  plains,  and  even  he  forgot  the  bobbing 
shadows  and  dozed  away  again  on  his  seat. 

But  there  was  danger  near.     Stealthily  out  of  the 
mirage,  and    bending  low  in  their  saddles,   rode  a 


THE    STORY  OF    THE   BLACK   PACER.  211 

painted  band  of  savages,  hiding  their  advance  in  a 
ravine.  Their  purpose  was  to  strike  and  cut  oif  the 
rear  of  the  train,  the  length  of  which  promised  unu- 
sual success  to  their  undertaking,  as  the  white  men 
were  too  much  scattered  to  oppose  any  resistance  to 
a  sudden  onset.  At  length,  nearly  the  entire  train  had 
filed  by,  and  the  foremost  of  the  last  half  dozen  wag- 
ons approached  the  ravine.  At  the  signal,  out  from 
it  burst  the  troop  of  red  horsemen,  and  crossed  the 
road  like  a  dash  of  dust  from  the  hand  of  a  hurricane, 
every  savage  spreading  his  blanket  and  uttering  the 
war  whoop.  The  startled  teams  fled  in  stampede  over 
the  plains,  dragging  the  wagons  after  them.  Some 
of  the  drivers  were  thrown  out  and  others  jumped. 
Two  or  three  were  killed,  and  by  the  time  the  other 
teams  and  the  guards  had  taken  the  alarm,  and  turned 
back  for  a  rescue,  the  savages  had  cut  the  traces  of 
the  frightened  mules,  and  were  on  the  return  wdth 
them  to  their  distant  villages.  Instead  of  stopping 
the  animals  to  release  them  from  the  wagons,  the  In- 
dians urged  them  to  wilder  speed,  and  leaning  from 
their  saddles,  cut  the  fastenings  at  full  run.  Among 
the  booty  taken,  was  a  valuable  race  horse  and  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  in  greenbacks,  belonging  to  an  offi- 
cer who  was  on  his  way  from  New  Mexico  to  the  East. 
Meanwhile,  our  friend,  the  owner  of  the  black  pacer, 
with  his  outfit,  was  moving  quietly  along  two  or  three 
miles  in  the  rear,  entirely  unaware  of  afl^airs  at  the 
front.  Some  of  the  savages,  while  escaping  with  the 
booty,  espied  him,  and  coveting  the  noble  animal 
which  he  rode,  they  made  a  detour  and  surprised 
him  as  he  sat  jogging  along  a  hundred  yards  or  so 


212  BUFFALO   LAND. 

ahead  of  the  wagon  containing  his  wife  and  brother- 
in-law.  Though  mortally  wounded  at  their  first  vol- 
ley, with  the  desperate  effort  of  a  dying  man  he  clung 
to  the  saddle  for  a  hundred  yards  or  more,  and  then 
rolled  upon  the  prairie  a  lifeless  corpse.  Frantic  with 
terror,  the  horse  dashed  through  the  circle  of  Indians 
that  surrounded  him,  and  fled.  The  savages,  prob- 
ably fearing  longer  delay,  did  not  pursue,  nor  even 
attack  the  wagon,  and  the  black  pacer  was  not  seen 
again  for  some  months,  when  at  length  some  hunters 
discovered  him,  freed  from  saddle  and  bridle,  the 
leader  of  the  wild  herd. 

Buffalo  Bill  gave  us  quite  an  insight  into  some  of 
the  mysteries  of  plain  craft.  When  you  are  alone, 
and  a  party  of  Indians  are  discovered,  never  let  them 
approach  you.  If  in  the  saddle,  and  escape  or  con- 
cealment is  impossible,  dismount,  and  motion  them 
back  with  your  gun.  It  shows  coolness,  and  these 
fellows  never  like  to  get  within  rifle  range,  when  a 
firm  hand  is  at  the  trigger.  If  there  is  any  water 
near,  try  and  reach  it,  for  then,  if  worst  comes  to 
worst,  you  can  stand  a  siege.  The  savages  of  the 
plains  are  always  anxious  to  get  at  close  quarters  be- 
fore developing  hostility.  Unless  very  greatly  in  the 
majority,  and  with  some  unusual  incentive  to  attack, 
they  will  not  approach  a  rifle  guard.  Were  they  as 
well  supplied  with  breech-loading  guns  as  with  pis- 
tols, the  case  would  be  different,  of  course.  Bill  was 
the  hero  of  many  Indian  battles,  and  had  fought 
savages  in  all  ways  and  at  all  hours,  on  horseback 
and  on  foot,  at  night  and  in  daytime  alike. 

As  an  amusing  illustration  of  the  savcige  abhor- 


THE  WITCH  QUESTION  AGAIN.  213 

rence  of  long-range  guns,  I  beg  the  reader's  indul- 
gence for  introducing  an  anecdote  which  I  afterward 
heard  narrated  by  an  officer  who  participated  in  the 

affair.     Major  A was  sent  out  from  Fort  Hays 

with  a  company  of  men  on  an  Indian  scout,  and,  when 
near  a  tributary  of  the  south  fork  of  the  Solomon,  the 
savages  appeared  in  force,  and  a  fight  commenced, 
which  continued  until  dark.  Several  soldiers  were 
w^ounded  and  two  killed.  As  the  Indians  were  evi- 
dently increasing  in  numbers,  after  nightfall  a  squad 
was  dispatched  to  the  fort  for  ambulances  and  rein- 
forcements. Only  six  men  could  be  spared,  and  these 
were  sent  off  with  a  light  field-piece  in  charge.  Soon 
after  crossing  the  Saline,  a  strong  band  of  Indians 
was  discovered  half  a  mile  off  reconnoitering.  A 
shell  was  sent  screaming  toward  them,  but  the  aim 
was  too  high,  and  it  burst  a  short  distance  beyond 
them.  IN'evertheless,  the  effect  was  instantaneous ; 
the  savages  vanished,  nor  stood  upon  the  order  of 
their  going.  During  the  next  ten  miles  this  scene 
was  repeated  three  times,  the  stand-point  on  each  oc- 
casion being  removed  further  and  further  away.  The 
last  shot  was  a  remarkably  long  one,  and  the  shell 
burst  directly  in  their  faces.  Not  only  did  they  dis- 
appear for  good,  but  the  whole  investing  force,  on 
receiving  their  report,  fled  likewise. 

Talking  thus  about  Indians,  under  the  gloom  of  the 
trees,  seemed  in  some  unaccountable  way  to  suggest 
the  idea  of  witches  to  the  mind  of  Pythagoras.  Per- 
haps, in  accordance  with  his  pet  theory  of  develop- 
ment, he  was  cogitating  w^hether,  ages  ago,  the  red 
man's  family  horse  might  not  have  been  a  broom- 


214  BUFFALO    LAND. 

stick.  At  any  rate,  he  suddenly  gave  a  new  turn  to 
the  conversation  by  asking  Shamus  why,  when  the 
dogs  pointed  the  witch-hazel  during  our  quail  hunt  at 
Topeka,  he  had  affirmed  that  the  canine  race'  could 
see  spirits  and  witches  which  to  mortal  eyes  were  in- 
visible. Now,  the  Dobeen  had  been  bred  on  an  Irish 
moor,  where  the  whole  air  is  woven,  like  a  Gobelin 
tapestry,  full  of  dreams  of  the  marvelous,  and  where 
whenever  an  unusual  object  is  noticed  by  moonlight, 
the  frightened  peasant,  instead  of  stopping  a  moment 
to  investigate  the  cause,  rushes  shivering  to  his  hut 
to  tell  of  the  fearful  j^liooJcas  he  has  seen.  He  was 
very  superstitious,  and  we  had  often  been  amused  at 
his  evasions,  when,  as  sometimes  happened,  his  faith 
conflicted  with  our  commands.  The  time  might  be 
near  when  such  peculiarities  would  prove  trouble- 
some instead  of  amusing,  and  it  was  well,  therefore, 
that  we  should  get  a  peep  at  the  foundations  of  our 
cook's  faith,  and  perhaps  that  portion  of  it  which  re- 
lated to  our  friends,  the  dogs,  would  be  especially  en- 
tertaining. Moreover,  we  had  had  so  much  of  the  red 
man  that  we  were  glad  to  welcome  an  Irish  witch  to 
our  first  camp-fire.  Dobeen's  narrative  was  substan- 
tially as  follows,  though  I  can  not  attempt  to  clothe  it 
in  his  exact  language,  and  still  less  in  the  rich  brogue 
which  yet  clung  to  him  after  years  of  ups  and  downs 
in  "Ameriky.^' 

"  Dogs  can  study  out  many  things  better  than  men 
can,"  said  Shamus,  in  his  most  impressive  manner. 
*'  Before  I  left  old  Ireland  for  America,  I  had  a  dash- 
ing beast,  with  as  much  wit  as  any  boy  in  the  country. 
He  could  poach  a  rabbit  and  steal  a  bird  from  under 


DOBEEN  ENLIGHTENS  US.  215 

the  gamekeeper's  nose,  an'  give  the  swatest  howl  of 
warnin'  whenever  a  bailiff  came  into  them  parts." 

Sachem  suggested  that  these  were  rather  remark- 
able habits  for  a  dog  connected  with  the  great  house 
of  Dobeen. 

"  But  yez  must  know  he  was  only  a  pup  when  my 
fortunes  went  by,"  responded  Shamus,  "and  he  learnt 
these  tricks  afterward.  Ah,  but  he  was  a  smart 
chap!  Couldn't  he  smell  bailiffs  afore  ever  they 
came  near,  an'  see  all  the  witches  and  ghosts,  too,  by 
second  sight!  He  wouldn't  never  go  near  the  O'Shea's 
house,  that  had  a  haunted  room,  though  pretty  Mary, 
the  house-girl,  often  coaxed  at  him  with  the  nicest 
bits  of  meat." 

Sachem  thought  that  perhaps  the  animal's  second 
sight  might  have  shown  him  that  stray  shot  from 
pretty  Mary's  master,  aimed  at  a  vagabond,  might 
perhaps  hit  the  vagabond's  dog. 

"I  wasn't  a  vagabond  them  times,"  retorted  Sha- 
mus, quickly,  yet  with  entire  good  humor,  "  and  sony 
for  it  I  am  that  the  name  could  ever  belong  to  me 
since.  And  please,  Mr.  Sachem,  don't  be  after  inter- 
ruptin'  again.  Some  people  wonder  why  the  dogs 
bark  at  the  new  moon  an'  howl  under  the  windows 
afore  a  death.  In  the  one  matter,  your  honors,  they 
see  the  witches  on  a  broomstick,  ridin'  roun'  the  sky, 
an'  gatherin'  ripe  moon-beams  for  their  death-mix- 
tures an'  brain  blights.  Many  a  man  in  our  grand- 
fathers' time — yes,  an'  now-a-days  too — sleepin'  under 
the  full  moon,  has  had  his  brains  addled  by  the  un- 
wholesome powder  falling  from  the  witches'  aprons. 
Wise  men  call  it  comet  dust.     And  why  shouldn't  a 


216  BUFFALO    LAND. 

dog  that  has  grown  up  to  mind  his  duty  of  watchin' 
the  family,  howl  when  he  sees  Death  sittin'  on  the 
window  sill,  a  starin'  within,  and  preparin'  to  snatch 
some  darlint  away  ?  Ah,  but  their  second  sight  is  a 
wonderful  gift  though ! 

"  The  name  of  my  dog,  your  honors,  was  Goblin, 
an'  he  came  to  us  in  a  queer  sort  of  way,  just  like  a 
goblin  should.  There  was  a  hard  storm  along  the 
coast,  an'  the  next  mornin'  a  broken  yawl  drifted  in, 
half  full  of  water,  with  a  dead  man  washin'  about  in 
it,  an'  a  half-drowned  pup  squattin'  on  the  back  seat. 
Me  an'  my  cousin  buried  the  man,  an'  the  other  beast 
I  brought  up.  May  be  there  was  somethin'  in  this 
distress  that  he  got  into  so  young  that  he  could  n't 
outgrow.  Even  the  priest  used  to  notice  it,  and  say 
the  poor  creature  had  a  sort  of  touch  of  the  melan- 
choly; an'  sure,  he  never  was  a  joyful  dog.  Smart 
an'  true  he  was,  but,  faith,  he  was  n't  never  happy ; 
yez  might  pat  him  to  pieces,  an'  get  never  a  wag  of 
the  tail  for  it.  He  delighted  in  wakes  and  buryins, 
an'  when  a  neighborin'  gamekeeper  died,  he  howled 
for  a  whole  day  an'  a  night,  though  the  man  had  shot 
at  him  twenty  times.  Mighty  few^men,  your  honors, 
with  a  dozen  slugs  in  their  skin,  would  have  stood  on 
the  edge  of  a  man's  grave  that  shot  them,  an'  mourned 
when  the  earth  rattled  on  the  box  the  way  Goblin, 
poor  beast,  did  then.  Ah,  nobody  knows  what  dogs 
can  see  with  their  wonderful  second  sight.  That  beast 
thought  an'  studied  out  things  better  than  half  the 
men  ye'll  find ;  an'  it 's  my  belief  that  dogs  did  so  be- 
fore, an'  they  have  done  it  since,  an'  they  always 
will." 


DOBEEN  SUFFERS  AN   INTERRUPTION.     217 

"  You  are  right,  Dobeen,"  said  the  Professor.  "  Put 
a  wise  dog,  and  a  foolish,  vicious  master  together. 
The  brute  exhibits  more  tenderness  and  though tful- 
ness  than  the  man.  In  the  latter,  even  the  mantle  of 
our  largest  charity  is  insufficient  to  cover  his  multitude 
of  sins,  while  the  skin  of  his  faithful  animal  wraps  noth- 
ing but  honest  virtue.  The  dog,  having  once  suffered 
from  poison,  avoids  tempting  pieces  of  meat  thencefor- 
ward, when  proffered  by  strange  hands,  but  the  man 
steeps  his  brain  in  poison  again  and  again — or  as  often 
as  he  can  lay  hold  of  it.  While  grasping  the  deadly 
thing,  he  sees,  stretching  out  from  the  bar  room  door, 
a  down  grade  road,  with  open  graves  at  the  end,  and 
frightened  madmen,  chased  by  the  blue  devils  and  mur- 
der and  misery,  rushing  madly  toward  them.  These 
swallow  their  victims,  as  the  hatches  of  a  prison  ship 
do  the  galley  slave,  and  close  upon  them  to  give  them 
up  only  when  the  jailer,  the  angel  of  the  resurrection, 
shall  unlock  the  tombs,  and  calls  their  occupants  to 
judgment.  Does  the  sight  appall  and  bring  him  to  his 
senses  ?  No,  he  crowds  among  the  terrors,  and  takes 
to  his  bosom  the  same  venomous  serpent  that  he  has 
seen  sting  so  many  thousands  to  death  before  him. 
And  yet  people  give  to  the  brute's  wisdom  the  name 
of  instinct,  and  call  man's  madness  wisdom." 

*'  But,  your  honors,"  interposed  Dobeen,  "  I  shall  be 
after  losing  my  dog  entirely,  unless  yez  lave  off  inter- 
ruptin'  me,  an'  let  me  finish  my  story." 

"•  Go  on,  Shamus,  go  on ! "  we  all  cried  with  one 
breath. 

"  Well,  then,  when  Goblin  came  to  me  in  his  infan- 
cy, he  wore  a  silver  collar  with  his  name  all  beauti- 


218  BUFFALO   LAND. 

fully  engraved  on  it.  May  be  the  dead  man  in  the  boat 
had  been  bringing  him  from  some  strange  land  to  the 
childer  at  home,  and  thinking  how  the  odd  name 
would  please  them  all,  when  the  shadows  were  dart- 
ing around  his  hearth.  And  so  Goblin  howled  his  way 
through  the  world,  till  one  full  moon  eve,  when  every 
bog  was  shinin'  as  if  the  peat  was  silver.  Such  times, 
any  way  in  old  Jreland,  your  honors,  the  air  is  full  of 
unwholesome  spirits.  This  was  good  as  a  wake  for 
Goblin,  and  I  can  just  hear  him  now  the  way  he  cried 
and  howled  that  night !  He  kept  both  eyes  fixed  on 
the  moon,  and  no  mortal  man,  livin'  or  dead,  will  ever 
know  what  he  saw,  but  when  he  howled  out  worse  nor 
common  that  night,  it  meant,  may  be,  that  some  witch, 
uglier  than  the  resf,  had  just  whisked  across  the  shin- 
in'  sky.  Just  at  midnight,  I  was  waked  out  of  a 
swate  sleep  by  the  quietness  without,  the  way  a  mil- 
ler is  when  his  mill  stops.  I  looked  out  of  the  win- 
dow at  the  dog  where  he  sat,  an',  faith,  the  dog  was  n't 
there  at  all !  Just  then  I  heard  a  despairin'  sort  of 
howl,  away  up  in  the  air  above  the  trees,  an'  by  that 
token  I  knew  the  witches  had  Goblin.  !N'ext  mornin', 
one  of  the  lads  livin'  convanient  to  us  told  me  he  had 
heard  the  same  cry  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  the  cry, 
your  honors,  of  the  poor  beast  as  the  witches  carried 
him  off.  Afore  the  week  was  out.  Goblin's  collar  was 
found  on  the  gamekeeper's  grave ;  that  was  all — not  a 
hair  else  of  him  was  ever  seen  in  old  Ireland." 

As  Shamus  concluded  his  veracious  narrative  he 
looked  around  upon  us  with  an  air  of  triumph,  as  if 
satisfied  that  even  Sachem  dare  not  now  dispute  the 
second  sight  of  the  canine  race. 


THE   SONG   OF   SHAMUS. 


2ia 


That  worthy  took  occasion  to  declare  on  the  in- 
stant, however,  that  the  nearest  neighbor  was  fully 
justified  in  playing  the  witch.  If  any  thing  could 
destroy  the  happiness  of  human  beings,  as  well  as 
of  the  broom-riding  beldams,  it  would  be  the  howling 
of  worthless  curs  at  night.  He  himself  had  often 
been  in  at  the  death  of  vagabond  cats  and  dogs  en- 
gaged in  moon-worship.  The  outbursts  of  Goblin 
had  simply  been  silenced  in  an  outburst  of  popular 
indignation. 


^%^r 


SMASHING  A  CHEYENNE  BLACK  KETTLE. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

A  VniK   SCENE — A  GLIMPSE    OP   THE   SOUTH — 'COON  HUNTING  IN  MISSISSIPPI — VOICM 
IN     THE     SOLITUDE — FRIENDS    OB    FOES — A     STARTLING    SERENADE — PANIC   IN 

CAMP — CAYOTES    AND     THEIR     HABITS WORRYING    A    BUFFALO    BULL  —  THK 

SECOND  DAY — DAUB,  OUR  ARTIST — HE  MAKES  HIS  MARK. 

OUR  fire  scene  was  evidently  no  novelty  to  the 
Mexicans,  whose  lives  had  been  spent  in  camp- 
ing out,  and  who,  with  one  cheap  blanket  each,  for 
mattress  and  covering,  slept  soundly  under  the 
wagons.  Across  their  dark,  expressionless  faces  the 
flames  threw  fitful  gleams  of  light,  which  were  as  un- 
heeded as  the  flashes  with  which  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury endeavors  to  penetrate  the  gloom  which  shrouds 
them  as  a  nation.  While  the  world  moves  on,  the 
degenerate  descendants  of  Montezuma  sleep. 

In  the  valley  bordering  our  little  skirt  of  trees  we 
could  hear  the  horses  cropping  the  short,  juicy  buf- 
falo grass,  and  trailing  their  lariat  ropes  around  a 
circle,  of  which  the  pin  was  the  center.  Semi-Colon 
lay  on  the  grass  close  to  his  father,  who  occupied  a 
cracker-box  seat  in  this  tableau,  the  amiable  son  at 
little  intervals  raising  his  head  to  indorse,  in  his  pe- 
culiar dissyllabic  way,  what  the  positive  parent  said. 
Looking  at  the  group  around  me,  and  thinking  of  our 
evening  turkey  hunt,  memory  carried  me  back  to  the 

(220) 


AFTER   THE    'POSSUM.  221 

last  time  I  had  been  among  the  trees  after  dark, 
with  gun  in  hand,  which  was  at  the  South,  away 
down  in  Mississippi,  just  after  the  war. 

It  was  a  lazy  time,  those  November  days.  Large 
flocks  of  swans  filled  the  air  above,  with  their  flute- 
like notes,  and  thousands  of  sand-hill  cranes  circled 
far  up  toward  the  sun,  their  bodies  looking  like  dis- 
tant bees,  as  from  dizzy  heights  they  croaked  their 
approbation  of  the  rich  crops  beneath  them.  Ducks 
passed  like  charges  of  grape  shot,  sending  back  shrill 
whistles  from  their  wings,  as  they  dived  down  into  the 
standing  corn. 

As  night  came  on,  the  moon  went  up  in  a  great 
rush  of  light,  like  the  reflector  of*  a  railroad  train 
mounting  the  sky.  Soon  every  shadow  is  driven 
from  the  woods,  and  then  the  horns  are  tooted,  the 
dogs  howl,  and  away  go  gangs  of  woolly  heads,  old 
and  young,  in  pursuit  of  Messrs.  Tossum  and  'Coon. 
In  vain  the  sly  tree-fox  doubles  around  stumps,  and. 
leaving  tempting  persimmon  and  oaks  full  of  plump- 
est acorns,  at  the  warning  noise,  seeks  refuge  among 
huge  cypresses.  On  go  the  hunters — big  dogs,  little 
dogs,  bear-teasers,  and  deer-hounds,  sprinkled  with 
darkeys — crashing  through  cane  and  underbrush,  the 
human  portion  of  the  party  laughing  and  yelling  as 
if  a  tempest  had  stolen  them  ages  ago  from  Babel, 
and  just  discharged  them  in  pursuit  of  that  particu- 
lar 'coon. 

The  voice  of  the  Professor  suddenly  called  me  back 
to  the  present,  and  I  found  myself  chilled  by  the  wet 
grass,  as  if  my  body  had  been  wandering  with  the 

12 


222  BUFFALO   LAND. 

mind  in  that  land  of  cotton,  and  was  unprepared  for 
the  northern  air. 

*•  Gentlemen" — this  was  what  the  voice  said — "  we 
are  now  one  thousand  and  five  hundred  miles  from 
Washington  City,  latitude  39,  longitude  99.  Stick  a 
pin  there  on  the  map,  and  you  will  find  that  we  have 
got  well  out  on  the  spot  that  geographers  have  been 
pleased  to  call  desert.  Does  it  look  like  one  ?  Tell 
me,  gentlemen,  had  you  rather  discount  your  man- 
hood among  the  stumps  of  New  England  than  loan 
it  at  a  premium  to  the  rich  banks  of  these  streams  ?" 

The  Professor  came  to  an  abrupt  pause,  for  borne 
to  us  on  the  still  air  was  that  most  unmistakable  of 
all  sounds,  the  h^man  voice.  The  note  of  one  bird 
at  a  distance  may  be  mistaken  for  another,  and  the 
cry  of  a  brute,  when  faintly  heard,  lose  its  distinguish- 
ing tones.  But  once  let  man  lift  up  his  voice  in  the 
solitude,  and  all  nature  knows  that  the  lord  of  ani- 
mal creation  is  abroad.  There  are  many  sounds 
which  resemble  the  human  voice,  just  as  there  are 
many  objects  which,  indistinctly  seen,  the  hunter's 
eye  may  misinterpret  as  birds.  But  when  a  flock  of 
birds  does  cross  his  vision,  however  far  away,  he 
never  mistakes  them  for  any  thing  else.  The  first 
may  have  excited  suspicion,  the  latter  resolves  at 
once  into  certainty. 

We  listened  attentively  and  anxiously.  It  might 
very  naturally  be  supposed  that,  after  leaving  the 
abodes  of  his  fellows,  and  going  far  out  into  the  soli- 
tary places  of  Nature,  man  would  rejoice  to  catch  the 
sounds  which  told  him  that  others  of  his  race  were 
near,  but  this,  like  many  other  things,  is  modified  by 


FRIENDLY   VISITORS.  223 

circumstances.  On  the  plains  the  first  question  asked 
is,  "  Are  they  friends  or  foes?  "  No  one  being  able 
to  answer,  the  breeze  and  general  probabilities  are  in- 
quired of,  and  until  the  eyes  pass  verdict  the  mo- 
ments are  laden  with  suspense.  Even  in  times  of 
peace  the  hunter,  if  possible,  avoids  the  savage  bands 
which  flit  back  and  forth  across  Buffalo  Land ;  for,  if 
he  saves  his  life,  he  is  apt  to  lose  an  inconvenient 
amount  of  provisions,  at  least,  at  their  hands. 

Our  guide  speedily  informed  us  that  Indians  never 
make  any  noise  when  in  camp,  which  was  gratifying 
intelligence.  All  further  suspense  was  shortly  re- 
lieved by  the  appearance  down  the  valley  of  muskets 
glittering  in  the  moon-light.  The  bearers  proved  to 
be  two  soldiers,  who  stated  that  some  ofiicers,  with  a 
small  force  of  cavalry,  were  in  camp  a  mile.below  us, 
being  out  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  buffalo  meat, 
and  having  as  guests  two  or  three  gentlemen  from  St. 
Louis,  desirous  of  seeing  the  sport.  They  had  heard 
our  late  heavy  firing,  and  sent  to  know  what  was  the 
matter.  We  gave  the  soldiers  a  late  paper  to  carry 
back,  and  with  many  regrets  that  our  fatigue  was  too 
great  to  think  of  accompanying  them  for  a  neighborly 
call,  we  bade  them  good-night,  and  saw  them  dis- 
appear down  the  valley. 

At  the  Professor's  suggestion,  preparations  were 
now  made  for  retiring,  and  we  sought  bur  tent  and 
blankets.  In  a  few  brief  moments,  the  others  of  the 
party  were  blowing,  in  nasal  trumpetings,  the  praises 
of  Morpheus.  I  could  not  sleep,  however;  for  each 
bone  had  its  own  individual  ache,  and  was  telling 


224  BUFFALO   LAND. 

how  tired  it  was.  Pulling  up  a  tent-pin,  I  looked 
out  under  the  canvas. 

On  a  log  by  the  fire  sat  Shamus,  his  head  between 
his  hands,  gazing  at  the  coals,  and  droning  a  low  tune. 
Occasionally,  he  would  make  a  dash  at  some  fire-brand, 
with  a  stick  which  he  used  as  a  poker,  and  break 
it  into  fragments,  or  toss  it  nervously  to  one  side. 
"WTiether  this  was  because  it  resolved  itself  into  a  fire- 
sprite  winking  at  him,  or  some  mihappy  memory 
glowed  out  of  the  coals,  I  tried  to  tempt  sleep  by  con- 
jecturing. 

Off  at  a  little  distance,  I  could  see  one  of  our  men 
standing  guard  near  the  horses,  and  once  or  twice  my 
excited  fancy  thought  it  detected  shadows  creeping 
toward*  him.  A  little  beyond,  nervously  stretching 
his  lariat  rope,  while  walking  in  a  circle  around  the 
pin,  was  Mr.  Colon's  Iron  Billy.  His  clean  head 
erect,  and  fine  nose  taking  the  breeze,  the  intelligent 
animal  appeared  restless,  and  I  could  not  help  think- 
ing that  he  saw  or  smelt  something  unusual,  away  in 
the  darkness.  What  if  the  bottom  grass  was  full  of 
creeping  savages? 

The  crescent  moon,  just  rising  over  the  divide,  was 
scarred  by  many  cloud  lines,  and  as  yet  gave  no  light. 
The  sensation  which  had  stolen  over  me  was  becom- 
ing disagreeable,  when  far  off,  at  some  ford  down  the 
creek,  I  heard  animals  splashing  through  water,  and 
concluded  that  Billy's  nervousness  was  caused  by 
crossing  buffaloes.  The  horse  had  an  established  rep- 
utation as  a  watch,  his  former  owner  having  assured 
us  that  neither  Indian  nor  wild  beast  could  approach 
camp  without  Billy  giving  the  alarm. 


VOICES   FROM   HADES.  225 

Presently,  Dobeen  resumed  his  droning,  which  had 
been  suspended  for  a  few  moments,  this  time  singing 
some  snatches  from  an  old  Irish  ballad.  The  last  words 
were  just  dying  away,  when  I  started  to  my  feet  in 
horror.  What  an  infernal  chorus  filled  the  air !  Each 
point  of  the  compass  was  represented,  and  we  were 
wrapped  around  with  a  discordant,  fiendish  cordon  of 
sound.  Bursting  upon  us  with  a  deep  mocking  cry, 
it  ended  abruptly  in  a  wild  ''  Ha-ha !  "  It  was  such 
a  chorus  as  pours  through  Hades,  when  some  poet 
opens,  for  an  instant,  the  gate  of  the  damned.  Our 
poor  Irishman,  at  the  first  sound,  had  fallen  from  the 
log  as  if  shot,  but  had  suddenly  sprung  to  his  feet, 
and  was  now  performing  a  terror-dance  behind  the 
fire  with  a  club.  For  a  moment,  I,  too,  had  taken  the 
outburst  for  the  war-whoop  of  savages,  but  was  saved 
from  a  panic  by  seeing  through  the  gloom  the  figure 
of  the  sentinel  still  at  his  post,  and  the  next  instant 
the  voice  of  the  guide  was  lifted,  with  the  re-assur- 
ing intelligence — "  Only  cayotes,  gentlemen,  only  cay- 
otes ! " 

Mr.  Sachem  and  Mr.  Muggs  had  been  lying  close 
behind  me  in  their  blankets.  The  former  had  given 
a  terrified  snort,  and  then  both  lay  motionless.  After 
the  alarm.  Sachem  admitted  that  he  was  frightened. 
Had  always  heard  that  people  shot  over  instead  of 
under  the  mark  in  battle.  Was  resolved  to  lay  low. 
Had  no  high  views  about  such  things.  Muggs  had 
not  thought  it  worth  while  to  get  up.  Knew  they 
were  wolves.  Had  heard  more  hextraordinary  'owls 
before  he  came  to  the  blarsted  country. 

But    where    was    the    doctor?      Echo   answered, 


226  BUFFALO   LAND. 

"  Where  ?  "  "  Hallo,  Doctor !  "  cried  the  guide,  and 
a  voice  from  the  woods,  which  was  not  echo,  answered,- 
"Coming!"  Again  Buffalo  Bill  lifted  his  voice  in 
the  solitude,  and  again  came  an  answer,  this  time  in 
a  form  of  query,  "Is  it  developed,  my  boy?  If  so, 
classify  it."  And  we  answered  that  the  birth  in  the 
air  had  developed  into  wolves,  and  been  classified  as 
the  canis  latrans^  noisy  and  harmless. 

Finding  that  this  new  lesson  in  natural  history  had 
taken  away  all  desire  for  sleep,  I  finished  the  study 
by  the  fire,  with  our  guide  for  a  tutor. 

The  cayote  (pronounced  lO-o-te),  in  its  habits,  is  a 
villainous  cross  between  a  jackal  and  a  wolf,  feasting 
on  any  kind  of  animal  food  obtainable,  even  unearth- 
ing corpses  negligently  buried.  With  the  large  gray 
wolf,  the  cayotes  follow  the  herds  of  bison,  generally 
skulking  along  their  outskirts,  and  feeding  upon  the 
wounded  and  outcasts.  These  latter  are  the  old  bulls 
which,  gaunt  and  stiff  from  age  and  spotted  all  over 
with  scars,  are  driven  out  of  the  herd  by  the  stout 
and  jealous  youugsters.  Feeding  alone,  and  weak 
with  the  burden  of  years  upon  his  immense  shoulders, 
the  old  bull  is  surrounded  by  the  hungry  pack.  But 
they  dare  not  attack.  One  blow  of  that  ponderous 
head,  with  the  weight  of  that  shaggy  hump  be- 
hind it,  is  still  capable  of  knocking  down  a  horse. 
The  veteran  could  fling  his  adversaries  as  nearly  over 
the  moon  as  the  cow  ever  jumped,  if  they  only  gave 
him  a  chance.  Like  a  grim  old  castle,  he  stands 
there  more  than  a  match  for  any  direct  assault  of 
the  army  around. 

With  the  tact  of  our  modern  generals,  a  line  of  in- 


ALL  UP  WITH  THE  OLD  BULL.  229 

vestment  is  at  once  formed,  and  a  system  of  worrying 
adopted.  JNTo  rest  now  for  the  old  bull.  He  can  not 
lie  down,  or  the  beasts  of  prey  will  swarm  upon  him. 
Again  and  again  he  charges  the  foe,  each  time  clear- 
ing a  passage  readily,  but  only  to  have  it  close  again 
almost  instantly.  In  these  resultless  sorties  the 
garrison  is  fast  using  up  its  material  of  war.  The 
ammunition  is  getting  short  which  fires  the  old  war- 
rior, and  sends  the  black  horns,  like  a  battering-ram, 
right  and  left  among  his  foes.  As  long  as  he  keeps 
his  feet  he  lives,  though  hemmed  in  closely  by  the  snap- 
ping and  snarling  multitude.  The  tenacity  of  one  of 
these  patriarchs  is  wonderful.  For  a  whole  life-time 
chief  of  the  brutes  on  his  native  plains,  he  has  grown 
up  surrounded  by  wolves.  Not  fearing  them  himself, 
he  has  easily  defended  the  cows  and  calves.  An 
attempted  siege  would  once  have  been  but  sport  to 
him,  and  it  seems  difficult  for  the  brain  in  the  thick 
skull  to  understand  that  Time,  like  a  vampire,  has 
been  sucking  the  juices  from  his  joints  and  the  blood 
from  his  veins. 

Tired  out  at  length,  the  old  bull  begins  to  totter, 
and  his  knees  to  shake  from  sheer  exhaustion.  His 
shakiness  is  as  fatal  as  that  of  a  Wall  Street  bull. 
As  he  lies  down  the  wolves  are  upon  him.  They  are 
clinging  to  the  shaggy  form,  like  blood-hounds,  before 
it  has  even  sunk  to  the  sod,  and  the  victim  never 
rises  again. 

The  cayotes  are  very  cowardly,  and  when  carcasses 
are  plenty,  sleep  during  the  day  in  their  holes,  which 
are  generally  dug  into  the  sides  of  some  ravine.  If 
found  during  the  hours  of  light,  it  is  usually  skulking 


230  BUFFALO   LAND. 

in  the  hollows  near  their  burrows.  They  have  a 
decidedly  disagreeable  penchant  for  serenading 
travelers'  camps  at  night,  so  that  our  late  experience, 
the  guide  assured  me,  was  by  no  means  uncommon. 
They  will  steal  in  from  all  directions,  and  sit  quietly 
down  on  their  haunches  in  a  circle  of  investment. 
!N'ot  a  sound  or  sign  of  their  coming  do  they  make, 
and,  if  on  guard,  one  may  imagine  that  every  foot  of 
the  country  immediately  surrounding  is  visible,  and 
utterly  devoid  of  any  animate  object.  All  at  once, 
as  if  their  tails  were  connected  by  a  telegraphic  wire, 
and  they  had  all  been  set  going  by  electricity,  the 
whole  line  ffives  voice.  The  initial  note  is  the  onlv 
one  agreed  upon.  After  striking  that  in  concert,  each 
particular  cayote  goes  it  on  his  own  account,  and  the 
effect  is  so  diabolical  that  I  could  readily  excuse 
Shamus  for  thinking  that  the  dismal  pit  had  opened. 

At  this  point  Dobeen  approached  and  cut  off  my 
further  gleaning  of  wolf  lore.  The  corners  of  his 
mouth  seemed  still  inclined  to  twitch,  showing  that 
the  shock  had  not  yet  worn  off.  He  was  chilled  by 
the  night,  he  said,  and  did  not  feel  very  well,  and 
craved  our  honors'  permission  to  sleep  at  our  feet  in 
the  tent.  Consent  was  given,  and  as  he  left  us  he 
turned  to  announce  his  belief  that  animals  with  such 
voices  must  have  big  throats. 

It  was  not  yet  light,  next  morning,  when  our  camp 
was  all  astir  a^ain.  Drowsiness  has  no  abiding  place 
with  an  expedition  like  ours  upon  the  plains.  Should 
he  be  found  lurking  anywhere  among  the  blankets,  a 
bucket  of  water,  from  some  hand,  routs  him  at  once 
and  for  the  whole  trip.      Even  Sachem,  who  usually 


STIFFENED  JOINTS.  231 

hugged  Morpheus  so  long  and  late,  might  that  morn- 
ing have  been  seen  among  the  earliest  of  us  washing 
in  the  waters  of  the  creek. 

We  were  all  in  excellent  spirits,  and  with  appetites 
for  breakfast  that  would  have  done  no  discredit  to  a 
pack  of  hungry  wolves.  'No  sign  of  the  sun  was  yet 
visible,  save  a  scarcely  percej)tible  grayish  tinge  dif- 
fusing itself  slowly  through  the  darkness,  and  the  lift- 
ing of  a  light  fog  along  the  creek  upon  which  we  were 
encamped.  Although  sufficiently  novel  to  most  of 
our  party,  the  scene  was  quite  dreary,  and  we  longed, 
amid  the  gloom  and  chill,  for  the  appearance  of  the 
sun,  and  breakfast.  By  the  way,  I  have  noticed  that 
with  excursion  parties,  whether  sporting  or  scientific, 
enthusiasm  rises  and  sets  with  the  sun.  The  gray 
period  between  darkness  and  dawn  is  an  excellent 
time  for  holding  council.  The  mind,  no  less  than  the 
body,  seems  to  find  it  the  coolest  hour  of  the  twenty- 
four,  and  shrinks  back  from  uncertain  advances. 

Added  to  the  discomforts  usually  attendant  upon 
camp-life  were  our  stiif  joints.  The  first  day  upon 
horseback  is  twelve  hours  of  pleasant  excitement, 
with  a  fair  share  of  wonder  that  so  delightful  a  re- 
creation is  not  indulged  in  more  generally.  The  next 
twenty-four  hours  are  spent  in  wondering  whether 
those  limbs  which  furnish  one  the  means  of  locomo- 
tion are  still  connected  with  the  stiffened  body,  or  ut- 
terly riven  from  it;  and,  if  the  whole  truth  must  be 
told,  the  saddle  has  also  left  its  scars. 

As  the  edge  of  the  plateau  overlooking  the  river 
became  visible  in  the  growing  light,  we  saw,  as  on 
the  evening  previous,  multitudes  of  bufi'alo   feeding 


232  BUFFALO   LAND. 

there,  and  after  breakfast  a  council  of  war  was  held. 
I  am  somewhat  ashamed  to  record  that  it  voted 
no  hunting  that  day.  To  find  the  noblest  of  Amer- 
ican game  some  of  us  had  come  half  away  across  the 
continent,  and  now,  in  sight  of  it,  the  tide  of  enthu- 
siasm which  had  swept  us  forward  hitherto  stood  sud- 
denly still.  Not  because  it  was  about  to  ebb,  but  sim- 
ply in  obedience  to  certain  signals  of  distress  flying 
from  the  various  barks,  and  which  it  was  utterly  im- 
possible for  any  of  us  to  conceal. 

For  mounting  a  horse  was  entirely  out  of  the  ques- 
tion for  that  day.  Not  one  of  us  could  have  swung 
himself  into  saddle  for  any  less  motive  than  a  race 
with  death.  Our  steps  were  slow  and  painful,  and  we 
felt  as  if,  at  this  period  of  life's  voyage,  every  timber 
of  our  several  crafts  had  been  pounded  separately 
upon  some  of  the  hidden  rocks  of  ocean.  It  was  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  go  into  dock  for  repairs,  and 
the  valley  promised  to  be  a  pleasant  harbor. 

It  was  a  truly  melancholy  spectacle  to  behold  Sa- 
chem and  Muggs.  The  liveliest  and  the  gayest  ones 
yesterday,  but  to-day  the  gravest  of  the  grave.  That 
rotund  form,  which  always  doubted  his  own  or  other 
people's  emotions,  was  the  walking  embodiment  of 
woe,  and  for  once  evidently  clear  of  all  doubt  upon 
one  subject,  at  least.  Muggs  was  even  free  to  con- 
fess that,  for  general  results,  yesterday's  rough  rid- 
ing exceeded  "  a  'unt  with  the  'ounds."  Our  ani- 
mals were  also  quite  stiif,  but  the  hostlers  attributed 
this  not  so  much  to  their  yesterday's  service  as  to 
their  long  ride  in  the  cars.  They  had  not  yet  got 
their  "  land  legs  '^  fully  on  again.     It  was  soothing  to 


EXPLOKING  OUR  SURROUNDINGS.  233 

our  pride,  if  not  to  our  feelings,  to  reflect  that  per- 
haps some  of  our  soreness  was  the  result  of  their  first 
day's  stiffness. 

A  beaver  colony  near  us,  and  a  great  abundance 
of  turkeys,  offered  lessons  in  natural  history  of  no 
small  interest,  and  within  reach  of  lame  students. 
The  valley  gave  an  entomological  invitation  to  Mr. 
Colon,  and  the  great  ledges,  with  their  possibilities  of 
valuable  fossils,  attracted  the  Professor. 

Sitting  on  a  wagon  tongue,  and  applying  liniment 
to  an  abraded  shin,  might  have  been  seen  Pythagoras, 
M.  D.,  whose  daily  life,  since  leaving  Topeka,  had 
been  a  series  of  struggles  with  the  brute  he  rode.  His 
belief  in  the  transition  of  souls  into  horses  was  grow- 
ing upon  him.  He  felt  that  he  was  combating  the 
spirit  of  a  deceased  prize-fighter,  which  used  its  hoofs 
as  fists,  landing  blows  right  and  left.  Doctor  David 
called  these  "  spiritual  manifestations."  A  favorite 
habit  of  the  animal  was  what  is  known  as  brushing 
flies  from  the  ear  with  the  hind  foot,  and  often,  as  the 
owner  was  about  to  mount,  this  species  of  front  kick 
would  upset  him.  The  equine's  disposition,  it  must 
be  said,  had  not  been  improved  by  the  immense  sad- 
dle-bags with  which  the  Doctor  had  surmounted  him 
when  on  the  march.  Originally,  these  contained  a 
small  amount  of  medicine,  but  this  had  all  been 
ground  to  powder  under  the  weight  of  sundry  stones 
and  bones,  gathered  in  the  furtherance  of  the  great 
theory  of  development. 

As  the  sun  got  well  up  in  the  heavens,  staying  in 
camp  became  monotonous,  aud  we  hobbled  off  in  dif- 
ferent directions,  to  examine  the  surroundings.     Our 


234  BUFFALO   LAND. 

Mexicans  climbed  to  the  plains  above,  taking  their 
rusty  muskets  along  to  kill  buffalo.  Our  guide  went 
down  to  the  hunting  camp  below  us,  intending  to  re- 
turn to  Hays  with  the  officers,  home  duties  requiring 
his  attention.  One  of  our  hostlers,  familiar  with  the 
country,  was  to  be  our  pilot  in  future. 

Back  of  our  camp  lay  the  castellated  rocks  which 
had  attracted  our  notice  the  previous  evening,  and 
over  which  Daub,  our  artist,  now  became  intensely 
enthusiastic.  He  wandered  back  and  forth  in  front 
of  them,  his  soul  in  his  eyes,  and  these  upturned  to 
the  bluffs.     And  thus  we  left  him. 

"Grenius  is  struggling  hard  for  utterance  there," 
said  the  Professor  impressively.  "  That  young  man 
will  make  his  mark  ;  see  if  he  does  n't."  Alas,  how 
little  we  thought  he  would  do  it  so  soon. 

An  hour  later,  returning  that  way,  we  descried  our 
artist  high  up  on  the  face  of  the  rocks,  perched  on  a 
jutting  fragment,  and  clinging  to  a  stunted  cedar  with 
one  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  plied  his  brush. 
Fully  forty  feet  intervened  between  him  and  the 
earth. 

*' What  devotion  !"  cried  the  Professor. 

"Beautiful  spirit,"  said  Mr.  Colon,  "how  soon  it 
commences  to  climb." 

"That  young  man  will  develop,"  said  Dr.  Pythag- 
oras. 

A  few  feet  more,  and  the  artist  and  his  work  were 
fully  revealed.  He  had  developed.  A  cry  of  agony 
came  from  the  Professor's  lips ;  for  there  in  large  yel- 
low lines,  half  blotting  out  a  beautiful  stone,  our  eyes 
beheld  the  diabolical  letters,  S  0  Z . 


PEKSECUTED   GENIUS.  235 

He  never  finished  the  word.  The  Professor  seized 
a  rifle,  and  brought  it  to  a  level  with  the  artist's  paint 
pot.  "  Come  down,  you  rascal !  "  he  cried.  "  How 
dare  you  deface  one  of  nature's  castles  with  a  patent 
name  ?  "  Would  he  have  fired  ?  I  think  he  would. 
But  the  man  of  genius  caught  his  eye,  and  compre- 
hending the  situation,  cried,  with  face  whiter  than 
the  chalk  before  him,  "  0,  don't !  '' 

"Add  the  'odont',  you  villain,"  screamed  the  Pro- 
fessor, "  and  I  '11— I  '11  fire  ! " 

With  our  first  returning  wagon,  the  artist  went 
back  to  Hays,  but  his  work,  alas !  remains,  and  per- 
haps— who  knows  ? — some  future  generation  may  yet 
point  to  that  wall  and  tell  how  SOZ,  king  of  an  ex- 
tinct people,  once  held  dominion  over  the  beautiful 
valley. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

BISON    MEAT — A  STRANGE  ARRIVAL — THE   SYDNEY    FAMILY — THE  HOME  IN  THE  TAt- 
I^Y — THE  SOLOMON  MASSACRE — THE  MURDER  OP    THE  FATHER    AND    THE    CHILD 

— THE     settlers'     FLIGHT — INCIDENTS OUR     QUEEN     OP     THE     PLAINS — THH 

PROFESSOR     INTERESTED — IRISH     MARY — DOBEBN     HAPPY — THE     HEROINE     OP 
ROMANCE — sachem's  BATH  BY  MOONLIGHT — THE  BEAVER  COLONY. 

AT  noon  we  were  all  in  camp  again,  fully  pre- 
pared to  do  justice  to  the  ample  dinner  of  buf- 
falo, antelope,  and  turkey  which  we  found  awaiting 
us.  The  Mexicans  brought  in  the  quarter  of  an  old 
bull,  and,  according  to  their  own  story,  had  committed 
terrible  slaughter  on  the  plain  above ;  but,  as  we  had 
already  learned  to  balance  a  Mexican  account  by  a  de- 
duction of  nine-tenths  for  over-drafts,  we  felt  that  we 
saw  before  us  the  result  of  their  day's  hunt.  This 
our  first  taste  of  bison,  gave  us  highly  exaggerated 
ideas  of  that  animal's  endurance.  The  entire  flesh 
was  surprisingly  elastic — indeed,  a  very  clever  imita- 
tion of  India  rubber.  It  recoiled  from  our  teeth  with 
a  spring,  and  just  then  I  should  scarcely  have  been 
surprised  had  I  seen  those  buffalo  which  were  feed- 
ing in  the  distance,  go  bounding  off  like  immense 
foot-balls.  My  opinion  in  regard  to  buffalo  meat 
afterward  underwent  a  great  change,  but  not  until  I 
had  tasted  the  flesh  of  the  cows  and  calves.  Shamus, 
on  this  occasion,  had  devoted  his  culinary  energies 

(236) 


UNEXPECTED   VISITORS.  237 

especially  to  the  turkeys,  and  they  were  well  worthy 
such  attention.  Their  fat  forms,  nicely  browned, 
would  have  tempted  the  veriest  dyspeptic. 

Just  as  we  rose  from  dinner,  a  covered  emigrant 
wagon  was  discovered  approaching  us,  coming  down 
the  valley  right  on  our  trail.  From  the  fact  that  we 
were  off  the  route  of  overland  travel,  our  first  con- 
jecture was  that  it  was  from  Hays,  with  a  party  of 
hunters,  or  possibly  with  Tenacious  Gripe,  so  far  re- 
covered as  to  be  rejoining  us.  We  assumed  an  atti- 
tude of  dignified  interest,  prepared  to  develop  it  into 
friendship,  or  '^  don't  want  to  know  you  "  style,  as  oc- 
casion might  require.  A  hale,  elderly  man  was  the 
driver,  now  walking  beside  his  oxen.  The  outfit 
halted  before  our  astonished  camp,  and  as  it  did  so  two 
women,  genuine  spirits  of  calico  and  long  hair,  lifted 
a  corner  of  the  wagon  cover  and  looked  out.  Both 
were  apparently  young,  but  one  face  was  thin,  and 
had  that  peculiar  expression  of  being  old  before  its 
time  which  is  far  more  desolate  than  age.  The  other 
countenance  was  certainly  good-looking  and  interest- 
ing— quite  different,  indeed,  from  those  usually  seen 
peeping  out  of  emigrant  wagons.  Introductions  are 
short  and  decisive  on  the  plains.  We  liked  their 
looks,  and  invited  them  to  stop  ;  they  liked  ours,  and 
accepted.  I  think  the  Professor's  dignified  attitude 
and  scholarly  bearing  stood  us  in  good  stead  as  refer- 
ences. 

Another  female  developed  as  the  wagon  gave  forth 
its  load — this  time  a  bouncing  Irish  girl,  rosy-cheeked 
and  active,  evidently  the  family  servant.  At  this 
latter  apparition  Shamus  dropped  one  of  our  platters, 


238  BUFFALO   LAND. 

but  quickly  recovering  himself,  began  to  put  forth 
wonderful  exertions  to  prepare  a  second  dinner,  the 
new  comers  having  consented,  after  some  hesitation, 
to  become  our  guests  during  the  nooning  hour. 

Before  proceeding  to  give  the  reader  the  history  of 
this  interesting  family,  I  ought,  perhaps,  to  say  that 
I  do  so  with  their  express  permission,  the  only  dis- 
guise being  that,  at  his  request,  the  father  will  here  be 
designated  by  his  Christian  name,  Sydney. 

These  people,  after  an  absence  of  about  a  year,  were 
now  returning  from  Elizabeth  City,  a  recently-started 
mining  town  in  New  Mexico,  to  their  former  home, 
about  forty  miles  east  of  our  present  camp,  which  they 
had  left  the  preceding  season  under  circumstances  that 
were  sad,*  indeed.  About  three  years  before,  the  fam- 
ily, then  consisting  of  Mr.  Sydney  and  wife,  and 
their  two  daughters,  had  moved  from  Ohio  to  Kansas 
and  settled  on  a  tributary  of  the  Solomon.  Availing 
himself  of  the  homestead  law,  Mr.  Sydney  took  a 
tract  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  commenced 
improving  it.  One  of  the  daughters  soon  married  a 
young  man  to  whom  she  had  been  betrothed  at  the 
East,  and  who  at  once  set  earnestly  to  work  to  make 
for  himself  and  vounp:  wife  a  home  in  the  new  land. 
The  houses  of  the  father  and  the  child  were  but  half  a 
mile  apart,  and,  no  timber  intervening,  each  could  be 
plainly  seen  from  the  other.  For  a  time  this  little 
colony  of  two  families  was  very  happy.  Having  had 
the  first  choice,  their  farms  were  well  situated,  em- 
bracing both  river  and  valley,  and  their  herds,  pro- 
vided with  rich  and  unlimited  range,  increased 
rapidly.     Soon  rumors  came  from  below  that  a  rail- 


A   SAD   DOMESTIC    HISTORY.  239 

road,  on  its  way  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  would 
shortly  wind  its  way  up  the  Solomon  Valley,  bring- 
ing civilization  to  that  whole  region,  and  daily  mails 
within  a  few  miles  of  their  doors.    . 

The  second  year  of  prosperity  had  nearly  ended, 
when  one  morning  a  man  from  the  settlements  above 
dashed  rapidly  past  Mr.  Sydney's  house,  turning  in 
his  saddle  to  cry  that  the  Cheyennes  had  been  mur- 
dering people  up  the  river,  and  were  now  sweeping 
on  close  behind  him.  The  message  of  horror  was 
scarcely  ended  when  the  dusky  cloud  appeared  in 
sight,  rioting  in  its  tempest  of  death  down  the  valley. 
Midway  between  home  and  the  house  of  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  Sydney  was  overtaken  by  the  yelling  demons. 
In  vain  the  agonized  husband  pressed  forward  to  the 
fescue,  firing  rapidly  with  his  carbine.  She  was 
killed  before  his  eyes,  but  not  scalped,  the  Indians 
evidently  considering  delay  dangerous. 

It  is  a  fact  that  speaks  volumes  in  illustration  of 
the  mingled  ferocity  and  cowardice  that  characterize 
the  wild  Indians  of  to-day  that,  in  all  that  terrible 
Solomon  massacre,  not  a  single  armed  man  who  used 
his  weapon  was  harmed,  nor  was  one  house  attacked. 
The  victims  were  composed  entirely  of  the  sur- 
prised and  the  defenseless,  overtaken  at  their  work 
and  on  the  roads. 

Passing  the  dead  body  of  the  mother,  the  Chey- 
ennes, on  their  wiry  ponies,  swept  onward,  like  de- 
mon centaurs,  toward  the  home  of  the  daughter.  Sit- 
ting by  our  fire  at  evening,  with  that  dreary,  fixed 
look  which  one  never  forgets  who  has  once  seen  it, 

the  young  woman  told  us  the  story  of  her  childless 
13 


240  BUFFALO   LAND.      . 

widowhood.  Her  face  was  one  of  those  which,  smit- 
ten by  sorrow,  are  stricken  until  death.  Once  evi- 
dently comely,  the  smiles  and  warm  flush  had  died 
out  from  it  forever — ^just  as  in  the  lapse  of  centuries 
the  colors  fade  from  a  painting.  Though  scarcely 
twenty-five,  her  youth  was  but  an  image  of  the  past. 
She  told  her  story  in  that  mechanical,  absent  sort  of 
manner  which  showed  that  no  morning  had  followed 
the  evening  of  that  desolate  day.  She  was  still  living 
with  her  dead. 

"  The  Lord  gave  me  then  a  cup  so  bitter,"  she  said, 
"  that  its  sting  drove  a  mother's  joy  from  my  heart 
forever.  I  have  been  at  peace  since,  because,  among 
the  dregs,  I  found  that  God  had  placed  a  diamond 
for  me  to  wear  when  I  was  wedded  to  him.  Even  then 
I  did  not  rebel  and  reproach  my  Maker,  but  I  sunk 
down  with  one  loud  cry,  and  it  went  right  along  to 
the  great  white  throne  up  there,  with  the  spirits  of 
my  husband  and  my  babe.  I  thought  I  could  see 
them  in  the  air,  like  two  white  doves  flitting  upward, 
bearing  with  them,  as  part  of  our  sacrifice,  the  cry 
that  I  gave,  when  my  heart-strings  seemed  to  snap, 
and  I  knew  that  I  was  a  widow  and  childless.  Per- 
haps I  was  crazed  for  a  moment,  or — I  do  not  know — 
perhaps  my  spirit  really  did  go  with*  them  part  of  the 
way.  The  neighbors  found  me  there  for  dead,  and  I 
remained  cold,  till  they  brought  in  my  dear  babe,  my 
poor,  mutilated  babe,  and  placed  him  on  my  breast. 
His  warm  blood  must  have  woke  me,  and  I  sat  up,  and 
saw  them  bringing  John's  body  to  lay  it  by  me.  And 
then  the  whole  scene  came  before  me  again,  and  it 
seemed  so  stamped  into  my  very  brain,  ihat  shutting 


THE  TALE  OF  WOE  CONCLUDED.  241 

my  eyes  left  me  more  alone  with  my  murdered  ones 
and  the  murderers.  And  I  just  dragged  myself  where 
I  could  look  at  the  setting  sun,  and  tried  with  its 
bright  glare  to  burn  the  scene  from  oif  my  vision, 
so  that,  if  I  went  mad,  there  would  n't  be  any  mem- 
ory of  it  left.  For  mad  people  have  their  memories 
and  suffer  from  them,  and  they  know  it,  and  the  very 
fact  that  they  know  it  keeps  them  mad.  I  went 
through  it  all. 

"  A  person  dreaming  is  not  rational,  and  yet  may 
suffer  so,  and  feel  it  too,  as  to  shudder  hours  after 
waking  up.  There  was  John,  running  toward  the 
house  with  our  baby  boy,  and  the  savages  yelling  and 
whipping  their  ponies,  trying  to  getbetween  the  open 
door  and  him.  Alone,  he  could  have  saved  himself. 
And  our  baby  thought  John  was  running  for  play, 
and  was  clapping  his  little  hands  and  chirping  at  me 
as  the  savages  closed  around  my  husband.  I  had 
only  time  to  pray  five  words,  "  0  God,  save  my  hus- 
band ! "  and  it  did  not  seem  an  instant  until  I  saw 
the  poor  body  I  loved  so  well  lying  on  the  ground, 
and  they  standing  over,  shooting  their  arrows  into 
it.  Baby  was  not  killed,  but  thrown  forward  under 
one  of  the  horses,  and  I  had  just  taken  a  step  or  so 
toward  him,  when  an  Indian,  who  seemed  to  be  the 
chief,  lifted  him  by  the  dress  to  his  saddle.  I  think 
his  first  intention  was  to  carry  him  with  them,  but,  see- 
ing some  of  our  neighbors  hurrying  toward  us,  they 
struck  the  baby  with  a  hatchet,  and  hurled  him  to  the 
ground.  At  the  instant  they  struck  him,  he  was 
looking  back  at  me  with  his  great  blue  eyes  wide  open 
and  staring  with  fright." 


242  BUFFALO   LAND. 

And  then  the  poor  woman,  having  finished  hei 
story,  began  sobbing  piteously. 

The  Solomon  had  numberless  tales  of  these  ter- 
rible massacres  equally  as  harrowing  as  this,  and  I 
could  fill  pages  of  this  volume  with  chapters  of  woe 
that  terminated  many  a  family's  history.  The  re- 
sult of  these  and  other  Indian  atrocities  is  probably 
yet  remembered  throughout  the  entire  country.  Kan- 
sas well  nigh  rebelled  against  a  government  which 
left  her  unprotected.  The  War  Department  author- 
ized vigorous  measures,  and  the  Governor  of  the  State 
raised  a  regiment  and  at  its  head  took  the  field. 
Through  blows  from  Custar  and  Carr,  the  savages 
found  out,  at  last,  that  the  dogs  of  war  which  they  let 
loose  might  return  to  bay  at  their  own  doors. 
.  Two  women  from  the  Saline  were  carried  into  cap- 
tivity by  the  Indians,  and  taken  as  wives  by  two  of 
their  chiefs.  One  day  Carr,  at  the  head  of  his  troops, 
looked  down  into  the  valley  upon  the  encampment  of 
a  band  especially  noted  for  its  hostility,  now  lying  in 
fancied  security  below  him.  The  two  white  captives 
were  in  the  wigwams.  Suddenly,  to  the  ears  of  the 
savages,  came  a  murmur  from  the  hill-side  like  the 
first  whisper  of  a  torrent. 

Instantly,  almost,  it  increased  to  a  roar,  and,  as  they 
sprung  to  their  feet  and  rushed  forth,  the  blue  waves 
of  vengeance  dashed  against  the  village,  and  broke  in 
showers  of  leaden  spray  upon  them.  Mercy  put  no 
shield  between  them  and  that  annihilating  tempest. 
Every  savage  in  the  number  was  a  fiend,  and,  as  a 
band,  they  had  long  been  the  scourge  of  the  border. 
Their  hands  were  yet  red  with  the  blood  of  the 


RESCUES   BY   THE   MILITARY.  243 

massacres  upon  the  Salme  and  Solomon,  and  white 
women  toiled  in  the  wigwams  of  their  husbands' 
murderers.  One  of  the  captives,  Mrs.  Daley,  was 
killed  by  the  savages,  to  prevent  rescue ;  the  other 
was  saved,  and  restored  to  her  husband. 

Somewhat  later,  two  women  from  the  Solomon 
were  taken  captive,  one  of  them  being  a  bride  of 
but  four  months  who  had  recently  come  out  with  her 
young  husband  from  the  State  of  New  York.  Cus- 
tar  seized  some  chiefs  and,  with  noosed  lariats  dang- 
ling before  their  eyes,  bade  them  send  and  have 
those  prisoners  brought  in,  or  suffer  the  penalties. 
Indians  have  an  unconquerable  prejudice  against  be- 
ing hung,  as  it  prevents  their  spirits  entering  the 
happy  hunting  grounds,  and  the  captives  were 
promptly  sent  to  Custar's  camp.  We  afterward  saw 
one  of  them,  Mrs.  Morgan,  on  the  Solomon.  What 
an  agony  must  have  been  hers,  as  she  came  in  sight 
of  her  old  home,  and  the  memory  of  her  wrongs  since 
leaving  it,  rose  anew  before  her! 

But  to  return  to  the  history  of  our  emigrants.  Af- 
ter the  murders,  Mr.  Sydney  and  his  daughters  aban- 
doned their  farms,  and  with  the  same  wagon  and 
oxen  which  two  years  before  had  brought  the  family 
out  from  Ohio,  they  started  for  the  recently  discov- 
ered mines  in  New  Mexico.  The  journey  was  te- 
dious, and,  when  at  length  arrived  there,  he  found 
but  little  gold,  and  even  less  relief  from  his  mighty 
sorrow.  The  old  home,  with  its  graves,  beckoned 
him  back,  and  thither  he  was  now  returning  to 
spend  his  remaining  days,  unless,  as  he  laconically 
stated,  some  one  had  "jumped  the  claim."     Lest  my 


244  BUFFALO   LAND. 

readers  toward  the  risino;  sun  should  not  clearly  un- 
derstand  the  old  gentleman's  meaning,  I  ought  per- 
haps to  explain  that,  under  existing  laws,  a  "  Home- 
steader  '*  can  not  be  absent  from  his  land  over  six 
months  at  any  time,  without  forfeiting  his  title,  and 
rendering  it  liable  to  occupancy  by  other  parties.  It 
was  already  two  days  over  the  allotted  period,  he 
said.  But  the  oxen  were  thin,  and  he  finally  de- 
cided to  rest  with  us  until  the  next  morning,  and  then 
push  forward. 

Flora,  the  younger  daughter,  was  a  blooming  West- 
ern girl  of  a  thoroughly  practical  turn,  and  a  coun- 
selor on  whose  advice  the  father  and  sister  evidently 
relied  greatly.  The  Professor  assured  me  confiden- 
tially that  evening,  and  with  much  more  than  his 
wonted  enthusiasm  on  such  a  subject,  that  she  pre- 
ferred the  language  of  the  rocks  to  that  of  fashion 
plates.  She  had  even  disputed  one  of  his  statements, 
he  said,  and  vanquished  him  by  producing  the  proof 
from  a  well-worn  scientific  work — one  of  a  dozen 
books  carefully  wrapped  up  and  stowed  away  with 
other  goods  in  the  wagon. 

A  novel  accomplishment  which  the  young  lady 
possessed  was  that  of  being  an  excellent  rifle  shot, 
and  it  afforded  us  all  considerable  merriment  when 
she  challenged  Muggs  to  a  trial  of  skill,  and,  produc- 
ing a  target  rifle,  utterly  defeated  him.  Such  a  wo- 
man as  that,  the  Professor  said,  was  safe  on  the  fron- 
tier; she  could  fight  her  own  way  and  clear  her 
vicinity  of  savages,  whenever  necessary,  as  well  as 
any  of  us. 

We  did  not  wish  our  emigrant  maiden  aught  but 


SACHEM   DISGUSTED.  245 

what  she  was,  and  were  well  pleased  with  the  romance 
of  her  visit.  For  the  nonce,  she  was  our  queen ;  the 
rough  ox-wagon  was  her  throne,  and  the  great  plains 
her  ample  domain.  In  sober  truth,  she  might  justly 
challenge  our  esteem  and  admiration.  Here  was  one 
of  the  gentler  sex  willing  to  make  divorce  of  happi- 
ness, that  she  might  minister  to  a  half-crazed  father 
and  mourning  sister,  and  who,  for  their  sake,  chose 
to  wander  through  a  country  which  might  at  any  mo- 
ment become  to  them  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death.  In  the  presence  of  such  heroism,  what  right 
had  we,  though  bruised  and  tired,  to  complain  ?  'No 
wonder  the  Professor  took  early  occasion  to  tell  us 
that  she  was  a  noble  woman,  an  honor  to  her  sex. 

This  emigrant  wagon,  with  its  wee  bit  of  domestic 
life,  was  a  pleasant  object  to  all  of  us  out  there  on  the 
desert,  with  the  single  exception  of  Alderman  Sa- 
chem. That  worthy  member  of  our  party  avoided 
its  vicinity,  as  if  a  plague  spot  had  there  seized 
upon  the  valley.  "  I  did  think,''  he  exclaimed, 
dividing  glances  that  were  quite  the  reverse  of  com- 
plimentary between  the  Professor  and  Shamus — "I 
did  think  that  we  had  got  out  of  the  latitude  of  spoon- 
ing. We  have  n't  had  a  digestible  mouthful  since 
they  came  in  sight.  A  love-struck  Irishman  can 
neither  eat,  himself,  or  let  others." 

But  Shamus  was  too  happy  to  heed  the  remark , 
for  the  first  time  since  starting,  he  seemed  perfectly 
contented.  An  Irish  girl,  the  like  of  Mary,  and  de- 
voted enough  to  follow  her  old  master  through  such 
adversity,  seemed  Dobeen's  beau  ideal  of  the  lovely 
and  lovable  in  the  sex.     The  valley  became  for  him 


246  BUFFALO    LAND. 

the  brightest  spot  upon  earth.  He  would  have  been 
content  there  to  court  and  cook,  I  think,  during  the 
remainder  of  his  natural  life.  Mary  was  shy,  and 
Shamus  was  bold,  but  it  was  quite  apparent  that 
both  enjoyed  the  situation  immensely. 

Although  the  little  party  stayed  but  a  day,  their 
departure  seemed  to  leave  quite  a  void  in  the  valley. 
The  most  noticeable  results  to  us  were  some  errors  in 
cooking  and  a  slackness  in  the  prosecution  of  scien- 
tific investigations. 

Mr.  Sydney  gave  us  a  hearty  invitation  to  visit 
him  upon  the  Solomon,  if  our  wanderings  took  us  that 
way,  and  our  prophetic  souls,  with  a  common  instinct, 
told  all  of  us  that  the  Professor  would  recognize  a 
call  of  science  in  that  direction.  By  a  look  and  a 
smile  from  a  maiden,  the  Philosopher,  deeply  sunken 
in  the  primary  formation,  had  been  drawn  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  modern,  a  result  which  fashionable  society 
had  more  than  once  striven  in  vain  to  bring  about. 
Miss  Flora  certainly  bid  fair  to  become  a  favorite 
pupil  of  his,  were  the  opportunity  only  offered. 

This  maiden  of  the  plains  was  a  new  character. 
The  beautiful  heroine  mentioned  in  most  Western 
novels  as  having  penetrated  the  Indian  country,  is 
either  the  daughter  of  "  once  wealthy  parents,"  or 
the  heiress  of  a  noble  family  and  stolen  by  gypsies 
for  reward  or  revenge.  It  was  the  first  appearance 
that  I  could  recall  of  a  farmer's  girl  in  a  position 
where  kidnapping  Indians  and  a  frantic  lover  could 
so  easily  appear,  and  by  opportune  conjunction  weave 
the  plot  of  a  soul-harrowing  romance. 

Another  evening  in  camp  was  spent  in  writing  and 


A  DRENCHED   GOTHAMITE.  247 

story-telling.  The  fire  was  getting  low,  when  Sachem 
rose  to  his  feet  and  called  to  Shamus.  "Dobeen," 
said  he,  "your  country  folks  are  always  handy  with 
the  sticks.  Let's  go  for  wood,  and  have  a  fire  that 
will  warm  up  the  witches  on  their  broomsticks  and 
send  them  flying  oif  to  hug  the  clouds."  We 
watched  the  pair  go  out  of  sight.  Knowing  well  the 
habits  of  Tammany,  we  all  felt  sure  that,  though  he 
might  find  the  load,  Irish  shoulders  would  have  to 
bear  it  back  to  camp. 

Scarcely  three  minutes  had  elapsed,  when  out  of 
the  timber,  with  garments  as  wet  as  water  could  make 
them  and  dripping  fast,  a  fat  form  came  shivering  to 
our  fire.  Our  alderman  had  taken  a  night  bath  in 
the  creek — an  adventure  which  he  thus  related  in  his 
own  peculiar  way : 

"  Below  us  in  the  woods  is  a  big  beaver  pond,  I 
don't  know  how  deep.  I  seemed  an  hour  going  down, 
and  did  n't  touch  bottom  then.  I  was  fooled  by  the 
moon.  (To  be  expected,  though,  as  she  's  a  female  !  ) 
A  few  of  her  beams,  thrown  down  through  the  trees, 
glittered  on  the  water  like  drift  wood.  That  sort  of 
beams  make  poor  timber  for  bridges,  but  I  didn't 
know  it  then  as  well  as  I  do  now.  One  of  them  went 
from  bank  to  bank,  and  I  took  it  for  a  log,  and  got  a 
ducking.  How  frightened  I  was,  though,  when  my 
feet  touched  water  and  my  body  went,  with  a  swash, 
right  under  it !  I  opened  my  mouth  to  shout  and  the 
water  rushed  in,  and  I  was  like  a  vessel  sinking  with 
open  hatches.  I  took  in  so  much,  I  was  afraid  I'd 
be  waterlogged  and  never  come  up.  I  did,  though, 
and  found  that  rascally  Irishman  throwing  sticks  at 


248  BUFFALO   LAND. 

my  head,  and  telling  me  to  hold  on  to  them.  I  told 
him  to  do  that  thing  himself,  and  finally  climbed 
ashore." 

We  afterward  sought  out  our  newly-found  neigh- 
bors, the  beavers,  finding  their  pond  a  short  distance 
below  us  on  the  creek,  and  a  little  lower  down  the 
dam  itself.  Many  more  trees  had  been  cut  for  the 
latter  than  were  used  in  its  construction,  several  hav- 
ing been  abandoned  when  almost  ready  to  fall.  We 
noticed  that  the  butts  of  the  prostrated  trees  were 
sharpened  down  gradually  like  the  point  of  a  lead- 
pencil,  but  both  ways,  instead  of  one,  so  that  a  tree 
cut  nearly  through  met  from  above  and  below  at  the 
point  of  breaking,  like  the  waist  of  an  hour  glass. 
This  dam  was  most  interesting  to  all  of  us,  since  it 
seemed  so  much  to  resemble  the  work  of  man.  In 
this  waste  place  of  the  earth,  it  really  seemed  almost 
like  company,  and  we  felt  a  strong  desire  to  have  a 
friendly  conference  with  the  builders.  But  these  had 
formed  this  reservoir  for  the  express  purpose  that  in 
its  depths  they  might  escape  intrusion,  and  now  the 
whole  regiment  of  engineers  seemed  asleep  in  bar- 
racks. Still  our  men  secured  a  few  very  fine  ones  by 
trapping. 

It  appeared  that  the  beavers  were  a  vacillating 
set  of  architects,  as  all  the  trees  which  stood  near 
the  water  and  leaned  over  it  at  all,  were  gnawed 
more  or  less,  and  many  of  them  left  when  almost 
ready  to  fall.  The  position  of  the  dam  had  evidently 
been  determined  by  the  tree  which  fell  first.  From 
the  reckless  manner  in  which  they  had  slashed 
around  with  their  teeth,  it  was  pertinently  suggested 


A  NAP  WITH  THE  BEAVERS.  249 

that  this  colony  must  have  obtained  from  the  beaver 
congress  a  government  subsidy.  Having  been  ac- 
quainted with  the  art  of  building  before  man  mas- 
tered it,  the  beaver  race  also  probably  understood 
how  to  do  it  at  little  personal  expense. 

The  beaver  appears  to  be  distributed  in  consider- 
able numbers  all  over  the  western  half  of  Kansas, 
although  the  spring  floods  sweep  away  their  dams 
almost  every  season.  Once  afterward,  when  lost  on 
the  plains  for  a  day,  I  came  across  a  beaver  dam. 
Several  hours  of  anxious  suspense  in  the  solitude,  fear- 
ing to  meet  man  lest  he  should  prove  a  savage,  begot 
a  strange  feeling  of  companionship  when  I  came  in 
sight  of  the  rude  structure  of  logs.  If  not  civiliza- 
tion, it  was  a  close  imitation  of  it,  and  I  laid  down 
and  fell  into  a  refreshing  sleep,  soothed,  in  the  fan- 
tasies of  Dreamland,  with  the  whir  of  looms  and  hum 
of  factory  life. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

PR3PARATI0N8   FOR   THE    CHASB — THB   VALLEY    OF    THE    SALINE QUEER  'COONS — A 

bison's  game  OF  BLUFF — IN  PURSUIT — ALONGSIDE  THB  GAME — FIRING  PBOM 
THE  SADDLE — A  CHARGE  AND  A  PANIC — rf-ALSB  HISTORY  AGAIN — GOING  FOU 
AMMUKITION — THB  PROFESSOR'S  LETTER — DISROBING  THB  VICTIM. 

THE  early  dawn  of  Wednesday  morning  saw  us 
again  astir.  There  was  the  same  creeping  of 
mist  out  of  the  valley  to  join  the  darkness  as  it  fled 
from  the  plains  above,  and  the  same  revealing  of 
thousands  of  shaggy  forms  silently  feeding  in  the 
distance.  This  time  our  beasts  and  our  bodies  were 
both  in  excellent  condition  for  the  chase.  Joints  gain 
and  lose  stiffness  quickly  in  such  a  life.  One  morn- 
ing the  hunter  feels  as  if  the  mill  of  life,  though  he 
turn  its  crank  ever  so  slowly,  had  broken  every  bone 
in  his  body;  twenty-four  hours  later  may  find  him 
elastic  and  buoyant,  as  if  youth  had  torn  away  from 
the  embrace  of  the  dead  past  and  was  with  him  again 
in  all  its  pristine  vigor.  In  the  present  case,  too, 
that  friend  of  early  hours  and  foe  of  sleepy  eyes,  the 
coffee  bean  had  done  its  work  for  us  grandly. 

Ten  horsemen  comprised  the  strength  of  the  party 
which  rode  out  of  the  valley  just  as  daylight  was 
coming  into  it.  One  of  the  hostlers  and  a  Mexican 
were  left  in  camp,  the  remainder  of  our  force  accom- 
panying us,  with  a  couple  of  wagons  to  bring  in  the 

(250) 


AMPHIBIOUS    'coons.  '  251 

game.  At  his  earnest  solicitation,  Shamus  was  per- 
mitted to  abandon  his  post  of  duty  temporarily,  and 
go  along  also,  with  the  understanding  that  he  was  to 
select  choice  pieces  from  the  first  suitable  game  we 
might  bring  down,  and,  returning  to  camp,  be  ready 
for  our  arrival  with  an  ample  dinner. 

As  we  rode  down  the  valley  of  Silver  Creek,  gangs 
of  wild  turkeys  occasionally  came  out  of  the  narrow 
skirt  of  timber,  and,  running  along  before  us  for  short 
distances,  re-entered  it,  and  were  lost  to  view  again. 
Never  having  been  hunted,  they  seemed  destitute  of 
the  timidity  and  cunning  which  are  the  usual  charac- 
teristics of  this  bird. 

Twent}^  minutes'  ride  brought  us  to  the  Saline,  the 
basin  of  which  we  found  to  be  half  a  mile  or  there- 
abouts in  width,  and  presenting  a  scene  of  great  des- 
olation. We  were  something  like  two  hundred  feet 
below  the  table-lands  which  came  down  to  the  narrow 
valley  in  barren  canyons  and  masses  of  rock.  The 
stream  itself  is  narrow,  with  less  than  two  feet  of 
water  running  swiftly  over  the  sands,  and  along  its 
banks,  at  intervals,  a  few  dwarfed  cottonwood  trees. 
Such  was  the  Valley  of  the  Saline  at  this  point ;  yet 
thirty  miles  below,  our  men  told  us,  the  valley  opened 
out  into  rich  bottom  lands,  and  was  famous  for  its 
beauty. 

While  in  the  act  of  crossing,  we  came  suddenly 
upon  four  small  animals  playing  and  fishing  in  the 
shallow  water.  With  an  exclamation  of  astonish- 
ment, the  Professor  had  his  glasses  out  in  a  moment. 
The  guide  informed  us  they  were  only  'coons,  and  such 
they  were  sure  enough,  with  the  peculiar  color  and 


252  BUFFALO   LAND. 

distinctive  rings  that  made  it  impossible,  on  second 
look,  to  mistake  them  for  any  thing  else.  Truly,  Na- 
ture seemed  full  of  eccentricities  in  this  remarkable 
region.  The  raccoons  of  natural  history  have  always 
aifected  trees,  and  been  considered,  par  excellence^ 
creatures  of  the  forest.  I  scarcely  think  the  Profes- 
sor would  have  been  surprised,  at  that  moment,  to 
know  that  hereabouts  fish  were  in  the  habit  of  climb- 
ing around  in  bushes,  or  stealing  corn. 

When  they  heard  us,  the  four  little  fellows  scam- 
pered away  a  few  steps,  and  disappeared  in  some 
holes  in  the  bank,  in  executing  which  maneuver  one 
of  them  swam  a  yard  or  two  across  a  deep  spot, 
making  good  progress.  We  learned  from  our  men 
that  small  colonies  of  these  animals  are  frequently 
found  along  treeless  creeks  on  the  plains,  living  in 
the  banks,  and  fishing  for  a  living,  by  grasping  the 
minnows  and  frogs,  as  they  pass  over  the  shallow 
places. 

From  the  river  we  directed  our  course  toward  a 
deep  canyon  which,  opening  toward  us  as  if  the  bluff 
had  been  riven  asunder  by  some  great  convulsion  of 
Nature,  at  its  further  end  reached  the  level  of  the 
plains,  and  offered  us  an  easy  ascent.  Evidence  of 
volcanic  action  appeared  along  the  canyon  in  the  form 
of  vitrified  fragments  and  occasional  masses  of  lava 
resembling  rock. 

The  guide  called  our  attention  to  an  object  in  the 
ravine  some  distance  ahead,  which  was  enveloped  in 
a  cloud  of  dust.  It  was  a  buffalo,  he  said,  indulging 
in  a  game  of  bluff.  This  statement  not  appearing 
very  clear  to  our  non-gambling  party,  he  explained 


A  DASH  AFTER  BUFFALO.  253 

that  the  old  fellow  was  "  butting  against  the  bank,  as 
if  he  was  going  to  break  it  all  to  pieces,  when  in  real- 
ity he  had  no  show  at  all." 

As  we  could  not  approach  nearer  without  frighten- 
ing him,  we  stood  still  for  a  few  minutes  and  watched 
him.  He  would  back  fifteen  or  twenty  yards  from 
the  blufi^,  paw  the  ground  for  an  instant,  and  then 
fling  himself  headlong  against  the  wall  of  earth  with 
a  tremendous  force,  as  was  abundantly  testified  by  the 
great  clouds  of  dust  that  would  rise  in  the  air.  For 
a  moment  afterward  he  would  continue  violently 
hooking  the  soil,  as  if  the  bowels  of  the  earth  were 
those  of  an  adversary.  We  afterward  repeatedly 
saw  bulls  engaged  in  this  exercise.  It  is  to  the  buf- 
falo what  the  training  school  is  to  the  prize-fighter, 
a  developing  of  brute  force  for  future  conflicts. 

The  shock  of  such  charges  as  we  witnessed,  if  made 
by  a  domestic  ox,  would  have  broken  his  neck.  Even 
our  bison  friend  finally  overdid  the  matter.  Either 
because  his  foot  tripped  or  the  blow  glanced,  upon 
one  of  his  charges,  he  fell  down  on  his  fore  legs,  and 
then  rolled  completely  over.  We  thought  this  a  good 
time  to  push  forward,  and  accordingly  did  so  at  a  gal- 
lop. Whether  thinking  himself  knocked  down  by  a 
foe,  or  because  he  heard  the  rattling  of  hoofs,  we 
could  not  determine,  but  he  suddenly  sprang  to  his 
feet,  whirled  his  shaggy  head  into  bearing  upon  us, 
then  turned  and  set  away  at  full  speed  up  the  can- 
yon, toward  the  plains  above.  The  order  was  given 
to  ply  spur  and  close  in  upon  him,  if  possible,  or  he 
would  set  the  herds  above  in  motion. 

It  was  a  mad  ride  that  we  had  for  the  next  ten 


254  BUFFALO    LAND. 

minutes — across  beds  of  gravel,  among  huge  bowlders, 
and  once  or  twice  over  great  fissures  in  the  earth 
which  chilled  my  blood  as  I  took  a  sort  of  bird's- 
eye  view  of  their  depths.  In  a  lumbering  run  on 
ahead  of  us  went  the  frightened  bull,  his  feet  occa- 
sionally sending  back  dashes  of  pebbles,  while  behind 
him  rattled  such  a  clattering  of  hoofs  that  the  poor 
brute,  if  he  could  think  at  all,  must  have  imagined 
he  had  butted  open  the  door  of  Hades,  and  was  now 
being  pursued  by  its  inmates. 

There  were  mishaps  in  this  our  first  buffalo  hunt, 
of  course,  and  among  them,  Muggs  dropped  a  stirrup, 
and  was  obliged  to  support  himself  afterward  on  one 
foot — an  awkward  matter,  resulting  from  his  incon- 
venient English  saddle,  one  of  the  kind  which  com- 
pels one,  half  the  time,  to  sustain  the  whole  body  by  , 
the  stirrups  alone.  We  gained  upon  the  game 
steadily,  though  no  particular  member  of  our  party 
excelled  as  leader,  first  one  being  ahead  and  then  the 
other.  Cynocephalus  developed  wonderfully,  and 
kept  well  up  with  his  better  conditioned  neighbors. 

What  a  magnificent  prize  for  the  hunter  rushed 
on  before  us,  swinging  his  ponderous  head  from  side 
to  side,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  better  rear  views — 
such  an  ungainly  and  shaggy  animal,  a  perfect  marvel 
of  magnificent  disproportions  !  It  is  well  enough  to 
go  to  Africa  and  hunt  lions,  and  describe  their  ma- 
jestic, flowing  manes ;  but  this  bison,  in  mad  flight 
ahead  of  us,  could  have  furnished  hair  and  mane 
enough  to  fit  out  half  a  dozen  lions.  At  close  quar- 
ters, too,  he  was  fully  as  dalngerous  as  the  king  of 
beasts. 


A  BOMBAKDMENT  FROM  THE    SAD1>LE.  255 

We  were  close  at  his  heels  when  the  level  of  the 
plain  was  reached,  and  pursuer  and  pursued  shot  out 
upon  it  together.  A  large  herd,  feeding  not  five  hun- 
dred yards  away,  was  speedily  in  full  flight  north- 
ward. *'A  stern  chase  is  a  long  chase,"  is  no  less 
true  in  buffalo  hunting  than  in  nautical  matters.  Af- 
ter considerable  experience  in  the  sport,  I  would  rec- 
ommend amateurs  to  get  as  near  their  game  as  pos- 
sible before  starting,  and  then  try  their  horses'  full 
metal.  Once  by  the  side  of  the  game,  he  can  keep 
there  to  the  end.  And  so,  after  a  terrible  chase, 
when  at  times  we  had  almost  despaired  of  overtaking 
the  old  fellow,  w^e  now  found  it  easy  to  keep  along- 
side. 

Our  bull  was  a  .huge  one,  even  among  his  species, 
and  in  such  moments  of  excitement  the  imagination 
seems  to  have  a  trick  of  entering  the  chambers  of  the 
eye,  and  sliding  its  mirrors  into  a  sort  of  double  fo- 
cus arrangement.  With  blood  boiling  until  my  heart 
seemed  to  bob  up  and  down  on  its  surface,  I  found 
myself  riding  parallel  with  the  brute,  and  had  I  never 
seen  him  afterward,  would  have  been  almost  willing 
to  make  oath  that  his  size  could  be  represented  only 
by  throwing  a  covering  of  buifalo  robes  over  an  ele- 
phant. 

Every  one  in  the  party  was  firing,  some   having 

dropped  their  reins  to  use  their  carbines,  and  others 

yet  guiding  their  horses  with  one  hand,  while  they  fired 

their  holster  revolvers  with  the  other.    Shootins-  from 

the  saddle,  with  a  horse  going  at  full  speed,  needs 

practice  to  enable  one  to  hit  any  thing  smaller  than  a 

mammoth.    You  point  the  weapon,  but  at  the  instant 
14 


256  BUFFALO   LAND. 

your  finger  presses  the  trigger,  the  muzzle  may  be 
directed  toward  the  zenith  or  the  earth.  An  expe- 
rienced hunter  steadies  his  arm,  not  allowing  it  to 
take  part  in  the  motion  of  his  body,  no  matter  how 
rough  the  latter  may  be.  But  we  were  not  expe- 
rienced hunters,  and  so,  although  such  exclamations 
as,  "  That  told  !  "  "  Mine  went  through  !  "  and  "  Per- 
fectly  riddled !  "  were  almost  as  numerous  as  the  bul- 
lets, it  was  easy  to  see  that  the  flying  monster  re- 
mained unharmed. 

From  the  first,  Mr.  Colon  had  fired  without  taking 
any  aim  whatever,  and  so  it  happened  that  his  gun, 
in  describing  its  half  circle  consequent  upon  the 
rising  and  falling  motion  of  the  horse,  at  length  went 
oif  at  the  proper  moment,  and  we  heard  the  thud  of 
the  ball  as  it  struck.  Dropping  his  head  into  posi- 
tion as  if  for  a  charge,  the  buffalo  whirled  sharply  to  the 
right,  and  passing  directly  between  our  horses,  made 
off  toward  the  main  herd.  But  he  soon  slowed  down 
to  a  walk,  and  as  we  again  came  up  with  him,  we 
could  see  the  blood  trickling  from  his  nose,  which  he 
held  low  like  a  sick  ox. 

In  the  excitement  of  the  chase,  and  perhaps  from 
being  well  blown  before  coming  near  the  buffalo,  our 
horses  had  hitherto  shown  no  fear,  but  now,  as  the  old 
bull  stood  there  in  all  his  savage  hugeness,  and  the 
smell  of  blood  tainted  the  air,  they  pushed,  jostled, 
snorted,  and  pranced,  so  that  it  required  all  our  ef- 
forts to  keep  them  from  downright  flight.  Even  Do- 
been's  donkey  kept  his  rider  uncertain  whether  his 
destiny  was  to  seek  the  ground  or  abide  in  the  sad- 
dle. 


THE   BULL   TURNS   UPON  US.  257 

The  brute  stood  facing  us,  perhaps  fifty  yards  off, 
his  eyes  rolling  wildly  from  pain  and  fury,  and  the 
blood  flowing  freely  through  his  nostrils. 

We  were  waiting  patiently  for  him  to  die,  when 
suddenly  the  head  went  into  position,  like  a  Roman 
battering  ram,  and  down  he  came  upon  us.  We  were 
utterly  routed.  No  spur  was  necessary  to  prompt 
the  horses,  and  I  doubt  if  their  former  owners  had 
ever  known  what  latent  speed  their  hides  concealed. 
The  whole  thing  was  so  sudden  there  was  no  time 
for  thought,  and  all  that  I  can  remember  is  a  confused 
sort  of  idea  that  each  animal  was  going  off  at  a  tre- 
mendous pace,  with  the  rider  devoting  his  energies 
to  sticking  on.  After  the  first  few  jumps,  we  were 
no  longer  an  organized  company,  each  brute  taking 
his  own  course,  and  carrying  us,  like  fragments  of  an 
explosion,  in  different  directions.  A  marked  excep- 
tion, however,  was  Muggs'  mule,  which  for  the  only 
time  in  his  life,  seemed  unwilling  to  run  away.  Af- 
ter being  the  first  to  start,  and  assisting  the  others  to 
stampede,  he  stopped  suddenly  short,  depositing  his 
rider  something  like « ten  yards  ahead  of  him,  in  a 
manner  quite  the  reverse  of  gentle. 

We  did  not  stop  running  as  soon  as  we  might  have 
done.  And  I  here  enter  protest  against  the  nonsense 
indulged  in  on  one  point  by  most  of  the  novelists  who 
educate  people  in  buffalo  lore.  When  we  halted, 
there  stood  the  bull  not  thirty  yards  from  the  spot 
where  he  had  first  stopped,  although  we  had  located 
him,  throughout  more  than  half  a  mile's  ride  but  a 
few  feet  from  our  horses'  tails,  and  at  times  had  even 
imagined  we  heard  hi^  deep  panting.     This  mortify- 


258  BUFFALO   LAND. 

ing  record  would  have  been  saved  us  had  we  known 
that  a  buffalo's  charges  never  extend  beyond  a  short 
distance.  Either  his  adversary  or  his  attack  is  speed- 
ily terminated.  He  does  not  pursue,  in  the  "  long, 
deep  gallop"  style  at  all.  Yet  I  scarcely  remember  a 
single  instance  mentioned  in  those  old  books  of  west- 
ern adventure,  in  which  a  buffalo's  charge  was  for 
a  less  distance  than  a  mile.  In  one  case  that  I  now 
recall,  the  race  was  nip  and  tuck  between  man  and 
bison  for  over  an  hour,  and  the  biped  was  finally  en 
abled  to  save  his  life  only  by  leaving  the  saddle  and 
swinging  into  a  tree !  Such  stories  are  simply  bal- 
derdash. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  checking  our  horses,  we 
rode  back  toward  the  wagon  and  the  game,  seeing 
in  the  former,  the  grinning  faces  of  our  men.  The 
bufiklo  was  still  on  his  feet,  but  while  we  looked  he 
slowly  sunk  to  his  knees,  like  an  ox  lying  down  to 
rest,  and  then  quietly  reposed  on  his  belly,  in  the  same 
attitude  one  sees  domestic  cattle  assume  when  wish- 
ing a  quiet  chew  of  the  cud.  Had  it  not  been  for  his 
bloody  nose  and  wild  eyes,  he  would  have  looked  as 
peaceful  as  any  bovine  that  ever  breathed. 

Wishing  to  put  the  poor  brute  out  of  misery,  we 
approached  closer,  and  several  of  us  dismounted, 
when  a  general  fire  was  opened.  Like  a  cat,  the 
old  fellow  was  on  his  feet  again  almost  instantly. 
By  a  singular  coincidence,  our  entire  party  just  then 
discovered  that  we  were  out  of  ammunition,  and  in  a 
body  started  for  the  wagon,  to  get  some.  Muggs  af- 
terward assured  us  that,  at  the  time,  he  had  just  got 
his  hand  in,  "  so  that  every  shot  told,  you  know,"  and 


\  , V  ; \;';:wl|B4|iipliiii  iiiiiiiaM.:  iiipji.;i;i:ii;;liaM^^ 


'",      illilllliPI™^ 

ii 


Ifi'filiPiiiP^^^^  ^    #''!(i|l1||l'i|Pi'ili!| 


HP 


THE   PROFESSOR  ENTHRONED.  261 

I  have  the  authority  of  all  for  the  deliberate  state- 
ment that  the  bull  would  have  been  riddled  before 
moving  a  foot  had  not  the  cartridges  suddenly  given 
out. 

The  effort  of  getting  up  had  sent  the  mass  of  blood 
collected  from  inward  bleeding  surging  out  of  the  buf- 
falo's nose,  and,  as  we  looked  back,  he  was  tottering 
feebly,  and  an  instant  afterward  fell  to  the  ground. 
There  was  no  doubt  now  of  his  death,  and  we 
swarmed  upon  and  around  him.  He  was  an  im- 
mense old  fellow,  and  his  hide  fairly  covered  with 
the  scars  of  past  battles.  Inasmuch  as  this  was  our 
first  trophy,  it  was  determined  to  take  his  skin,  and 
we  forthwith  seated  the  Professor  on  his  great  shaggy 
neck,  with  the  horns  forming  arms  for  an  impromptu 
hunter's  throne.  From  thence  he  wrote  upon  leaves 
from  his  note-book  a  letter  to  his  class  at  the  East, 
which  he  permitted  me  to  copy.  I  introduce  it  here, 
as  showing  that  the  blood  of  even  a  savan  pul- 
sates warmly  amid  such  circumstances  as  now  sur- 
rounded us. 


"  On  A  Buffalo,  in  the 
Year  of  my  Happiness,  One 


.} 


'^  Bear  Class — I  know  the  staid  and  quiet  habits 
that  characterize  all  of  you,  and  that  you  are  not 
given  to  hard  riding  and  buffalo  hunting.  Yet  this 
prairie  air,  with  its  rich  fragrance  and  wild  freeness, 
would  give  a  new  circulation  to  the  blood  of  each  one 
of  you.  Like  a  gale  at  sea,  the  breeze  sweeps  against 
one's  cheeks,  and  the  great  billows  of  land  rise  on 
every  side,  as  mountains  of  troubled  ocean.     Why 


262  BUFFALO   LAND. 

not  desert  the  city  and  lose  yourself  for  awhile  in 
this  great  grand  waste  ?  Antelope  are  bounding  and 
buffalo  running  on  every  side  of  us,  while  villages 
of  prairie  dogs  bark  at  the  flying  herds.  One  grows 
in  self-estimation  after  breathing  this  air,  and,  feel- 
ing that  safety  and  life  depend  on  his  own  exertions, 
learns  to  place  reliance  ujDon  the  powers  which  Na- 
ture has  given  him,  with  manly  independence  of  arti- 
ficial laws  and  police. 

"  While  I  am  writing,  the  first  victim  of  our  prow- 
ess, a  magnificent  specimen  of  the  American  bison,  is 
being  skinned  by  our  suite,  the  robe  from  which,  when 
prepared,  we  intend  sending  you.  The  men  say  it 
must  be  dressed  by  some  of  the  civilized  Indians  on 
the  reserves,  as  the  white  man's  tanning  injures  the 
value. 


"  The  robe  is  now  off,  and  half  a  ton  of  fat  meat 
lies  exposed.  We  shall  only  take  the  hind  quarters, 
a  portion  of  the  hump,  and  the  tongue.  How  glad 
the  famishing  wTetches  in  the  tenement  houses  of  the 
city  would  be  for  an  opportunity  to  pick  those  long 
ribs  which  we  leave  for  the  wolves !  His  horns  are 
somewhat  battered,  but  we  have  cut  them  off,  to  sup- 
plant hooks  on  a  future  hat-rack.  One  of  the  men 
has  just  taken  a  large  musket  ball  from  the  animal's 
flank.  That  shot  must  have  been  received  years  ago, 
as  the  ball  is  an,  old  fashioned  one  and  is  thickly  en- 
cased in  fat. 

"The  geological  formation  of  the  country  is  very 
interesting.     I   expect  to   examine  the  same  more 


THE   LETTER   CONCLUDED.  263 

thoroughly  after  we  have  studied  the  animals  trav- 
ersing its  surface.  Yesterday,  we  had  in  camp  a 
family  from  the  Solomon,  who  were  suiferers  some 
months  since  from  the  fearful  Indian  massacre  there. 
Their  story  was  an  exceedingly  interesting  one, 
though  very  sad.  We  shall  visit  them  if  duty  calls 
that  way.  I  must  close.  The  men  have  thrown  the 
skin  in  the  wagon,  flesh  side  up,  and  deposited  the 
meat  upon  it,  and  all  are  now  ready  for  furthec  con 
quests. 

"  Your  sincere  friend  and  instructor, 

"H — .-." 


I 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

# 

STILL    HUNTING — DARK    OBJECTS    AGAINST    THE    HORIZON — THE    RED    MAN   AGAIN — 

RETREAT  TO  CAMP — PREPARATIONS  FOR  DEFENSE SHAKING  HANDS  WITH  DEATH 

MR.  colon's  bugs— THE  EMBASSADORS A  NEW  ALARM  — MORE  INDIANS — TER- 
RIFIC BATTLE  BETWEEN  PAWNEES  AND  CHEYENNES THEIR  MODE  OP  FIGHTING — 

GOOD  HORSEMANSHIP — A  SCIENTIFIC  PARTY  AS  SEXTONS — DITTO  AS  SURGEONS — 
CAMPS  OF  THE  COMBATANTS — STEALING  AWAY — AN  APPARITION. 

OUR  further  conquests  for  that  day,  it  was  de- 
cided, could  best  be  effected  by  still  hunting. 
The  ^'uide  had  suggested  that,  if  we  desired  to  fill  our 
wagon  with  meat  and  get  back  to  camp  before  night, 
we  might  profitably  adopt  the  practice  of  old  hunters, 
who,  when  they  pursue  bison,  ^'mean  business." 
The  new  tactics  consisted  of  infantry  evolutions,  and 
required  a  dismounting  of  the  cavalry.  We  were  to 
crawl  up  to  the  herds,  through  ravines,  and  from 
those  ambuscades  open  fire. 

A  mile  away  buffalo  were  feeding  in  large  numbers, 
and  our  men  pointed  out  several  swales  into  which 
we  could  sink  from  the  surface  of  the  plains,  and,  fol- 
lowing the  winding  lines,  find  cover  until  emerging 
among  the  herd.  But  while  we  were  still  gazing  at 
the  latter,  sharp  and  distinct  against  the  northern 
horizon  appeared  other  objects,  evidently  mounted 
men,  and  men  in  that  direction  meant  Indians.     It 

(264) 


A  CHANGE  IN  THE  PROGRAMME.  265 

is  wonderful  how  quickly  one's  ardor  disappears, 
when,  from  being  the  hunter,  he  becomes  the  hunted. 
Our  only  desire  now  was,  in  Sachem's  language,  "a 
hankering  arter  camp,"  which  we  at  once  proceeded 
to  gratify. 

Back  again  with  the  remainder  of  our  party,  we 
felt  quite  safe.  Indians  of  the  plains  seldom  attack 
an  armed  body  which  is  prepared  for  them ;  and  then 
there  had  been  no  recent  demonstrations  of  hostility. 
On  the  other  hand,  no  massacre  had  yet  occurred 
upon  the  frontier  which  was  not  unexpected.  The 
whole  life  of  many  of  these  nomads  has  been  a  cata- 
logue of  surprises.  It  was  Artemus  Ward,  I  think, 
who  knew  mules  that  would  be  good  for  weeks,  for 
the  sake  of  getting  a  better  opportunity  of  kicking  a 
man.  These  savages  will  do  the  same  for  the  sake 
of  killing  one. 

Many  an  armed  man,  fully  capable  of  defending 
himself,  has  thus  been  thrown  off  his  guard,  and  sent 
suddenly  into  eternity.  The  cunning  savage,  seeing 
his  foe  prepared,  approaches  with  signs  of  friendship, 
and  cries  of  "How,  how?" — Indian  and  short  for 
"How  are  you?  "  Their  extended  hands  meet,  and 
as  the  palms  touch,  the  pale-face  shakes  hands  with 
death;  for,  while  his  fingers  are  held  fast  in  that 
treacherous  clasp,  some  other  savage  brains  him  from 
behind,  or  sheaths  a  knife  in  his  heart,  and  the  be- 
trayed white,  jerked  forward  with  a  fiendish  laugh, 
kisses  the  grass  with  bloody  lips.  We  had  been  re- 
peatedly warned  by  our  guides  that,  when  in  the 
minority,  the  only  safe  way  to  hold  councils  with  the 
Indians  is  at  rifle  range.     Even  if  bound  by  treaty,  a 


266  BUFFALO   LAND. 

knowledge  that  they  can  take  your  scalp  without 
losing  their  own,  is  like  binding  a  thief  with  threads 
of  gold :  the  very  power  which  should  restrain,  is  in 
itself  a  temptation. 

Our  little  camp  soon  bristled  all  over  with  defiance, 
a  sort  of  mammoth  porcupine  presenting  points  at 
every  angle  for  the  enemy's  consideration.  Our  ani- 
mals were  put  safely  under  cover  among  the  trees, 
where  they  could  not  be  easily  stampeded;  the 
wagons  were  ranged  in  a  crescent,  forming  excellent 
defense  for  our  exposed  side ;  and  pockets  were  hur- 
riedly filled  with  ammunition.  As  we  were  thus 
earnestly  preparing  for  war,  an  entomological  ac- 
cident occurred.  Sachem,  while  excitedly  thrusting 
a  handful  of  cartridges  into  Mr.  Colon's  pockets, 
suddenly  drew  back  his  hand  with  an  expression 
of  alarm,  bringing  with  it  a  whole  assortment 
of  bugs.  One  of  the  pocket-cases  of  our  ento- 
mologist had  opened,  and  the  inmates,  imprisoned 
but  that  morning,  were  now  swarming  over  our 
fat  friend's  fingers,  and  up  his  arm,  which  he  was 
shaking  vigorously.  There  they  were — rare  bugs 
and  plethoric  spiders,  together  with  one  lively 
young  lizard — all  clinging  to  the  limb  which  had 
brought  them  rescue  from  their  cavernous  cell  with 
more  tenacity  than  if  they  had  been  stuck  on  with 
Spalding's  glue.  Poor  Sachem !  While  he  danced  and 
fumed,  and  gave  his  opinion  of  bug-men  generally, 
Mr.  Colon  cried — "  0,  my  bugs,  my  beautiful  bugs !  " 
and  grasped  eagerly  at  his  vanishing  treasures.  Our 
alderman  disengaged  himself  at  length  from  his  nox- 
ious visitors,  and  meanwhile  the  other  members  of  the 


I 


AN  OLD  ACQUAINTANCE  KE-APPEARS.  267 

party,  having  provided  themselves,  poured  into  the 
other  pocket  of  the  grieved  naturalist  a  further  sup- 
ply of  cartridges,  thereby  utterly  annihilating  the  re- 
mainder of  his  collection. 

Our  preparations  being  concluded,  and  still  no 
signs  of  the  Indians,  we  sat  down  to  dinner.  Sha- 
mus  was  terribly  agitated,  and  the  shades  of  dyspep- 
sia hovered  over  his  cooking ;  but,  although  the  coffee 
was  muddy  and  the  meat  burned,  we  were  in  no 
mood  to  take  exceptions.  There  was  considerable 
determination  visible  on  the  faces  of  all  our  party. 
The  red  man  was  getting  to  be  as  sore  a  trouble  to  us 
as  the  black  man  had  been  to  politicians,  and  hav- 
ing already  lost  a  day  on  his  account,  we  were  now 
fully  resolved  to  hold  our  ground.  We  had  seen  the 
savage  in  all  the  terrors  of  his  war-paint,  and  felt  a 
very  comforting  degree  of  assurance  that  a  dozen  cool- 
headed  hunters,  mostly  armed  with  breech-loaders, 
possessed  the  odds. 

At  length,  along  the  edge  of  the  breaks  beyond  the 
Saline,  a  dark  object  appeared,  followed  by  another 
and  then  another  in  rapid  succession,  until  forty  un- 
mistakable Indians  came  in  sight,  and  were  bearing 
directly  toward  us,  following  the  tracks  of  our  wagons. 
Half  a  mile  off  they  halted,  and  then  we  saw  one  big 
fellow  ride  forward  alone.  His  form  seemed  a  fami- 
liar one,  and  soon  it  revealed  itself  as  that  of  our  late 
friend.  White  Wolf.  Now  we  had,  but  a  few  days 
before,  in  the  space  of  four  brief  hours,  concluded  at 
least  forty  treaties  of  peace  with  this  chief  and  his 
drunken  braves ;  yet,  remembering  past  history,  we 
should  have  wanted  at  least  as  many  more  treaties, 


268  BUFFALO  LAND. 

before  taking  the  chances  of  having  one  of  them 
kept,  and  admitting  the  painted  heathens  before  us 
to  full  confidence  and  fellowship. 

As  the  leader  of  our  party,  it  devolved  upon  the 
Professor  to  go  forward  and  meet  the  chief,  which  he 
promptly  did,  taking  along  our  man  who  was  acting 
in  Cody's  place  as  guide,  to  assist  him  in  compre- 
hending the  savage's  wishes.  Midway  between  us 
the  respective  embassadors  met.  We  heard  the 
chief's  loud  "  How,  how?  "  and  saw  their  hand-shak- 
ing, and  could  not  help  wondering  what  the  Philoso- 
pher's class  would  say,  could  they  have  beheld  their 
honored  tutor  officiating  as  a  frontispiece  for  such  a 
savage  background. 

White  Wolf  stated  that  he  had  been  out  after  Paw- 
nees ;  he  could  not  find  them,  and  so  "Indian  felt 
heap  bad ! "  Just  at  this  instant  a  loud,  quick  cry 
came  from  his  knot  of  warriors,  who  were  now  mani- 
festing the  wildest  excitement,  lashing  up  their  po- 
nies, stringing  their  bows,  and  making  other  prepara- 
tions as  if  for  a  fight.  Without  a  word,  the  chief 
turned  and  ran  for  dear  life  toward  his  band,  while 
the  Professor  and  our  guide  wheeled  and  ran  for  dear 
life  toward  us.  Seldom  has  the  man  of  science  made 
such  progress  as  did  the  respected  leader  of  our  ex- 
pedition then.  The  guide  called,  "  Cover  us  with 
your  guns! " — a  command  which  we  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  obey,  evidently  to  the  intense  alarm  of  the 
Professor,  for  so  completely  were  they  covered,  that 
I  doubt  if  either  would  have  escaped,  had  we  been 
called  upon  to  fire. 

Our  first  thought  had  been  a  suspicion  of  treachery, 


A  TRAGEDY  IN  PROSPECT.  269 

but  we  now  saw  that  the  Cheyennes  had  faced  toward 
the  hills,  and,  following  their  gaze,  we  beheld  coming 
down  their  trail,  and  upon  the  tracks  of  our  wagon, 
another  band  of  mounted  Indians.  It  soon  became 
clear  to  us  that  the  Pawnees,  the  Wolf's  failure  to 
find  whom  had  made  that  noble  red  man  feel  "  heap 
bad,"  were  coming  to  find  him.  We  counted  them 
riding  along,  twenty-five  in  all — inferior  in  numbers, 
it  was  true,  but  superior  to  the  Cheyennes  in  respect 
to  their  arms,  so  that,  upon  the  whole,  the  two  forces 
now  about  to  come  together  were  not  unevenly 
matched.  The  Pawnees  live  beyond  the  Platte,  and 
for  years  have  been  friendly  to  the  whites,  even  serv- 
ing in  the  wars  against  the  other  tribes  on  several  oc- 
casions. 

What  a  stir  there  was  in  the  late  peaceful  valley ! 
The  buffalo  that  were  lately  feeding  along  the  brow 
of  the  plateau  had  all  fled,  and  here  right  before  us 
were  sixty-five  native  Americans,  bent  upon  killing 
each  other  off,  directly  under  the  eyes  of  their  tradi- 
tional destroyer,  the  white  man.  The  Professor  said 
it  forcibly  suggested  to  his  mind  some  of  the  fearful 
gladiatorial  tragedies  of  antiquity.  Sachem  re- 
sponded that  he  was  n't  much  of  a  Roman  himself, 
but  he  could  say  that  in  this  show  he  was  very  glad 
we  occupied  the  box-seat,  the  safest  place  anywhere 
around  there ;  and  we  all  decided  that  it  must  be  a 
face-to-face  fight,  in  which  neither  party  dare  run,  as 
that  would  be  disorganization  and  destruction- 
It  was  strange  to  see  these  wild  Ishmaelites  of  the 
plains  warring  against  each  other.  Over  the  wide 
territory,  broad  enough  for  thousands  of  such  pitiful 


270  BUFFALO   LAND. 

tribes,  they  had  sought  out  each  other  for  a  bloody 
duel,  like  two  gangs  of  pirates  in  combat  on  mid- 
ocean  ;  and,  like  them,  if  either  or  both  were  killed, 
the  world  would  be  all  the  better  for  it.  It  was 
clearly  what  would  be  called,  on  Wall  street,  a 
**  brokers'  war,"  in  which,  when  the  operators  are 
preying  on  each  other,  outsiders  are  safe. 

While  we  were  looking,  a  wild,  disagreeable  shout 
came  up  from  the  twenty-five  Pawnees,  as  they 
charged  down  into  the  valley,  which  was  promptly 
responded  to  by  fierce  yells  from  the  forty  Cheyennes. 

"Let  it  be  our  task  to  bury  the  dead,"  said  the 
Professor,  looking  toward  the  wagon  in  which  rested 
his  geological  spade.  "  It  is  extremely  problematical 
whether  any  of  these  red  men  will  go  out  of  the  val- 
\ej  alive." 

And  thus  another  wonderful  change  had  come  over 
the  spirit  of  our  dream.  From  being  a  scientific  and 
sporting  expedition,  we  had  been  suddenly  meta- 
morphosed into  a  gang  of  sextons,  who,  in  a  valley 
among  the  buifaloes,  were  witnessing  an  Indian  bat- 
tle, and  waiting  to  bury  the  slain. 

As  the  Pawnees  came  down  at  full  gallop,  the 
Cheyennes  lashed  up  their  ponies  to  meet  them. 
Then  came  the  crack  of  pistols,  and  a  perfect  storm 
of  arrows  passed  and  crossed  each  other  in  mid-air. 
As  the  combatants  met,  we  could  see  them  poking 
lances  at  each  other's  ribs  for  an  instant,  and  then 
each  side  retreated  to  its  starting  point.  Charge  first 
was  ended.  We  gazed  over  the  battle-field  to  count 
the  dead,  but  to  our  surprise  none  appeared. 

A  few  minutes  were  spent   by  both  parties  in  a 


1 


THE  FRAY  IX  PROGRESS.  273 

general  overhauling  of  their  equipments,  and  then 
another  charge  was  made.  They  rode  across  each 
other's  fronts  and  around  in  circles,  firing  their 
arrows  and  yelling  like  demons,  and  occasionally, 
when  two  combatants  accidentally  got  close  together, 
prodding  away  with  lances.  The  oddest  part  of  the 
whole  terrible  tragedy  to  us  was  that  the  charges 
looked,  when  closely  approaching  each  other,  as  if 
they  were  being  made  by  two  riderless  bands  of  wild 
ponies. 

The  Indians  would  lie  along  that  side  of  their 
horses  which  was  turned  away  from  the  enemy,  and 
fire  their  pistols  and  shoot  their  arrows  from  under 
the  animals'  necks,  thus  leaving  exposed  in  the  sad- 
dle only  that  portion  of  the  savage  anatomy  which 
was  capable  of  receiving  the  largest  number  of  arrows 
with  results  the  least  possibly  dangerous.  I  noticed 
one  fat  old  fellow  whose  pony  carried  him  out  of  bat- 
tle with  two  arrows  sticking  in  the  portion  thus  un- 
protected, like  pins  in  a  cushion.  He  still  kept  up 
his  yelling,  but  it  struck  me  that  there  was  a  touch 
of  anguish  in  the  tone,  and  I  felt  confident  that  he 
would  not  sit  down  and  tell  his  children  of  the  bat- 
tle for  some  time  to  come. 

We  saw  one  exhibition  of  horsemanship  which  es- 
pecially excited  our  admiration.  An  arrow  struck  a 
Cheyenne  on  the  forehead,  glancing  ofi^,  but  stunning 
him  so  with  its  iron  point,  that,  after  swaying  in  the 
saddle  for  an  instant,  he  fell  to  the  earth.  Another 
of  the  tribe,  who  was  following  at  full  speed,  leaned 
toward  the  ground,  and  checking  his  pony  but 
slightly,  seized  the  prostrate  warrior  by  the  waist- 


274  BUFFALO  LAND. 

band,  and,  flinging  him  across  his  horse  m  front  of 
the  saddle,  rode  on  out  of  the  battle. 

For  several  hours — indeed  until  the  sun  was  low  in 
the  heavens  and  the  shadows  crept  into  the  valley — 
this  terrible  fray  continued,  the  charging,  shouting, 
and  firing  being  kept  up  until  both  combatants  had 
worked  down  the  river  so  far  that  we  could  no  longer 
see  them. 

It  was  approaching  the  dusk  of  evening  when 
White  Wolf  and  his  band  rode  back.  We  counted 
them  and  found  the  original  forty  still  alive.  The 
chief  assured  us  they  had  killed  "heap  Pawnees," 
whereupon  some  of  us  sallied  forth  to  visit  the  bat- 
tle-field. Three  dead  ponies  lay  there,  and  with  a 
disagreeable  sensation  we  looked  around,  expecting  to 
discover  the  mangled  riders  near  by.  Not  one  was 
visible,  however,  nor  even  the  least  sign  of  their 
blood.  The  grass  was  not  sodden  with  gore,  nor  did 
a  single  rigid  arm  or  aboriginal  toe  stick  up  in  the 
gathering  gloom.  IN'either  the  wolves  or  buzzards 
gathered  over  the  field,  and  slowly  the  conviction 
dawned  upon  us  that  Indian  battles,  like  some  other 
things,  are  not  always  what  they  seem. 

As  we  turned  again  toward  camp,  the  Professor, 
dragging  his  spade  after  him,  suggested  that,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  reputed  habits  of  these  savages, 
the  Pawnees  had  perhaps  carried  off  their  dead. 
But  at  the  instant,  onlv  a  short  distance  down  the 
river,  the  camp-fire  of  that  miserable  and  all  but 
annihilated  band  glimmered  forth.  It  was  decidedly 
too  bold  and  cheerful  for  the  use  of  twenty-five 
ghosts,  and  we  knew  then  that  White  Wolf  had  lied. 


A   DISAPPOINTED    SAVANT.  27u 

That  valorous  chieftain  we  found  limping  around 
outside  our  wagons,  with  a  lance-cut  in  one  of  his 
legs,  while  several  of  his  warriors  had  arrow- wounds, 
and  one  a  pistol-shot,  none  of  the  injuries,  however, 
being  dangerous.  The  Pawnees  probably  suffered 
with  equal  severity ;  and  this  was  the  sum  total  of 
the  day's  frightful  carnage — the  entire  result  of  all 
the  fierce  display  that  we  had  witnessed. 

'Not  long  afterward,  in  front  of  a  Government  fort, 
and  in  plain  sight  of  the  garrison,  a  battle  occurred 
between  two  large  parties  of  rival  tribes,  about  equal 
in  numbers.  Back  and  forth,  amid  furious  cries  and 
clouds  of  arrows,  the  hostile  savages  charged,  IN'oon 
saw  the  affair  commenced,  and  sunset  scarcely  beheld 
its  ending.  The  Government  report  states,  if  my 
memory  serves  me  correctly,  that  one  Indian  and 
two  horses  were  killed;  and  a  shade  of  doubt  still  ex- 
ists among  the  witnesses  whether  that  one  unlucky 
warrior  did  not  break  his  neck  by  the  fall  of  his 
pony ! 

These  savages  fight  on  horseback,  and  are  neither 
bold  nor  successful,  except  when  the  attacking  party 
is  overwhelming  in  numbers,  and  then  the  affair  be- 
comes a  massacre.  All  this  knowledge  came  to  us 
afterward,  but  our  first  introduction  to  it  w^as  a  sur- 
prise. Kind-hearted  man  though  he  w^as,  I  think  the 
resultless  ending  of  the  battle  disconcerted  even  the 
Professor.  Having  nerved  one's  self  to  expect  hor- 
rors, it  is  natural  to  seek,  on  the  gloomy  mirror  of 
fate,  some  rays  of  glimmering  light  which  can  be 
turned  to  advantage.     I  think  the  Professor's  rays, 

had  the  contest  proved  as  sanguinary  as  we  first  antici- 
15 


276  BUFFALO   LAND. 

pated,  would  have  found  their  focus  in  some  stout 
cask  containing  a  nicely-pickled  Pawnee  or  Cheyenne 
en  route  to  a  distant  dissecting  table.  It  would  have 
been  rather  a  novel  way,  I  have  always  thought,  of 
sending  the  untutored  savage  to  college. 

We  made  a  requisition  upon  our  medicine-chest,  and 
dressed  the  wounds  of  the  suffering  warriors.  White 
Wolf  stripped  to  the  waist,  and,  exposing  his  broad, 
muscular  form,  exhibited  thirty-six  scars,  where,  in 
different  battles,  lances  and  arrows  had  struck  him. 
It  struck  us  all  as  a  rather  remarkable  circumstance, 
though  we  prudently  refrained  from  commenting 
upon  it  just  then,  that  nearly  all  these  scars  were  on 
his  back. 

The  chief  expressed  great  friendship  for  us,  and  I 
really  believe  he  felt  it.  Sachem's  stout  form  was 
especially  the  object  of  his  admiration.  Between 
these  two  worthies  a  very  cordial  regard  seemed  to 
be  springing  up,  until  White  Wolf  unluckily  offered 
him  an  Indian  bride  and  a  hundred  buffalo  robes,  if 
he  would  go  with  the  band  to  its  wigwams  on  the  Ar- 
kansas— a  proposition  which  disgusted  our  alderman 
beyond  measure.  Savages,  sooner  or  later,  generally 
scalp  white  sons-in-law,  and  it  would  be  "  heap  good  " 
for  the  Cheyenne  to  have  such  an  opportunity  alwa^^s 
handy.  Sachem  declined  the  honor  with  all  the 
dignity  he  could  command,  and  carefully  avoided 
"the  match-making  old  heathen,"  as  he  termed  him, 
for  the  remainder  of  the  evening. 

We  kept  early  hours  that  night.  Guard  was 
doubled,  to  prevent  any  possible  treachery,  and  a 
sleepy  party  laid  down  to  rest.    The  Cheyennes  went 


A  NEW  USE  FOR  THE  SKILLET.        277 

into  camp  a  few  hundred  yards  up  the  creek,  a  barely 
perceptible  light,  looking  from  our  tents  like  a  fire-fly, 
marking  the  spot. 

When  a  "  cold  camp  "  is  discovered  on  the  plains, 
the  experienced  frontiersman  can  always  determine 
at  once  whether  white  men  or  Indians  made  it,  by 
the  size  of  the  ash-heap.  The  former,  even  when  try- 
ing to  make  their  fire  a  small  one,  will  consume  in 
<  one  evening  as  much  fuel  as  would  last  the  red  man 
a  half-moon.  The  latter,  putting  together  two  or 
three  bufi*alo  chips,  or  as  many  twigs,  will  huddle 
over  them  when  iarnited,  and  extract  warmth  and 
heat  enough  for  cooking  from  a  flame  that  could 
scarcely  be  seen  twenty  yards. 

The  two  opposing  parties,  which  were  now  resting 
only  a  mile  or  so  apart,  had  each  tested  the  other's 
metal,  and,  as  the  sequel  proved,  found  them  foemen 
worthy  of  their  steal.  From  the  unconcealed  fires  in 
their  respective  camps,  we  concluded  that  neither 
side  had  any  intention  of  attacking,  or  fear  of  being 
attacked. 

It  was  early  in  the  dawn  of  the  next  morning  when 
we  were  startled  from  our  slumbers  by  a  terrific  cry 
from  Shamus,  which  brought  all  of  us  to  our  tent- 
doors,  with  rifles  in  hand  ready  to  do  battle,  in  the 
shortest  possible  time.  Looking  out,  we  beheld  our 
cook  standing  near  the  first  preparations  of  break- 
fast, and  gazing  with  astonished  eyes  toward  the 
darkiiess  under  the  trees,  among  which  we  heard,  or 
at  least  imagined  we  heard,  the  stealthy  steps  of  moc- 
casined  feet.  In'  answer  to  our  interrogatories,  Sha- 
mus stated  that  just  as  he  was  putting  the  meat  in 


278  BUFFALO   LAND. 

the  pan,  he  saw  the  light  of  the  fire  reflected,  for  an 
instant,  on  a  painted  face  peering  out  at  him  from  be- 
hind a  tree.  "Faith,  but  I  shaved  the  lad's  head 
wid  the  skillet!"  said  Dobeen,  and  sure  enough  we 
found  that  article  of  culinary  equipment  lying  at  the 
foot  of  the  suspected  cottonwood,  badly  bent  from  con- 
tact with  something,  but  whether  that  something  was 
the  bark  or  a  painted  skull  is  known  only  to  that 
skulking  Cheyenne. 

We  waited  until  broad  daylight,  but  no  further 
disturbance  occurred,  and  what  was  strangest  of  all, 
the  valley  both  above  and  below  us  seemed  entirely 
destitute  of  either  Pawnee  or  Cheyenne.  A  recon- 
noissance,  which  was  made  by  the  Professor,  Mr. 
Colon,  and  our  guide,  developed  the  fact  that  not 
being  able  to  steal  any  thing  else,  tke  savages  had 
executed  the  difficult  military  maneuver  of  stealing 
away.  Just  before  daybreak,  the  Pawnees  had  gone 
due  north,  and  the  Cheyennes,  about  the  same  time, 
due  south.  As  White  Wolf  had  expressed  a  cold- 
blooded intention  of  exterminating  the  remnant  of 
his  foes  in  the  morning,  the  pitying  stars  may  have 
taken  the  matter  in  hand  and  misled  him ;  and  if  so, 
how  disappointed  that  blood-thirsty  band  must  have 
been  when  their  path  brought  them  into  their  own 
village,  instead  of  the  Pawnee  camp !  In  confirma- 
tion of  this  astrological  suggestion,  I  may  say  that 
while  in  Topeka  I  saw  "  stars,"  on  several  occasions, 
leading  Indians  in  the  opposite  direction  from  that 
in  which  they  wished  to  go. 

In  due  time  our  party  sat  down  to  another  plenti- 
ful breakfast,  which  was   eaten  with  all  the  more 


ONE  WHITE  SCORE  FOR  THE  WOLF.  279 

relish  because  we  had  all  that  little  world  to  our- 
selves again.  Discussing  Dobeen's  apparition,  we 
finally  came  to  the  unanimous  conclusion  that  it  was 
some  Indian  who,  while  his  brothers  stole  away,  had 
straggled  behind,  to  pick  up  a  keepsake.  I  think 
that  hideous  face  among  the  trees  never  entirely 
ceased  to  haunt  the  chamber  of  Dobeen's  memory. 
He  shied  as  badly  as  did  Muggs'  mule,  when  in 
strange  timber,  and  was  ever  afterward  a  warm 
advocate  for  pitching  camp  on  the  open  prairie. 

In  justice  to  White  Wolf,  it  should  be  stated  that 
we  afterward  learned  that  while  charging  in  such  a 
mistaken  direction  after  Pawnees  that  morning,  he 
met  two  men  from  Hays  City,  out  after  buffalo 
meat.  Finding  that  they  were  from  the  village 
which  had  been  kind  to  him,  he  loaded  their  wagons 
with  fat  quarters,  instead  of  filling  their  bodies  with 
arrows,  as  they  had  first  expected,  and  sent  them 
home  rejoicing. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

BTALKINO  THE   BISON — BUFFALO    AS     OXEN EXPENSIVE   POWER — A   BUFFALO    At  \ 

LUNATIC    ASYLUM — THE    GATEWAY    TO    THE    HEEDS — INFERNAL    GRAPE-SHOT— 
nature's    BOMB-SHELLS — CRAWLING    BEDOUINS — "  THAR      THEY    HUMP  " — THh 

SLAUGHTER   BEGUN — AN    INEFFECTUAL    CHARGE "  RETCHING  THE  CRITTER  " 

RETURN   TO   CAMP CALVES'  HEAD  ON  THE  STOMACH — AN  UNPLEASANT    EPISODB 

WOLF  BAITING,  AND  HOW  IT  IS  DONE. 

BREAKFAST  over,  the  day's  work  was  planned 
out.  We  were  desirous  of  loading  one  of  our 
wagons  with  game,  and  sending  it  back  to  Hays,  from 
whence  the  meat  could  be  forwarded  by  express  to 
distant  friends,  and  serve  as  tidings  from  camp,  of 
"  all's  well."  The  other  wagon  we  decided  to  keep 
with  us.  Horseback  hunting,  although  fine  sport, 
evidently  would  not,  in  our  hands,  prove  sufficiently 
expeditious  in  procuring  meat.  Our  guide  adduced 
another  argument  as  follows:  "Yer  see,  gents,  if 
yer  want  ter  ship  meat  by  rail,  it  won't  do  ter  run  it 
eight  or  ten  miles,  like  a  fox,  and  git  it  all  heated  up. 
Ther  jints  must  be  cool,  or  they  '11  spile."  Stalking 
the  bison  was  to  be  our  day's  sport,  therefore,  and  we 
were  speedily  oif,  taking  only  the  two  wagons,  the 
riding  animals  being  all  left  in  camp.  Shamus  pre- 
pared a  lunch  for  us,  as  we  did  not  expect  to  return  for 
dinner  before  dusk. 

Following  the  same  route  as  the  day  before,  we 

(280) 


AN  UNSATISFACTORY    EXPERIMENT.  281 

soon  ascended  the  Saline  "breaks,"  and  emerged  on 
the  plains  above.  Looking  to  us  as  if  they  had  not 
changed  position  for  twenty-four  hours,  the  buffalo 
herds  still  covered  the  face  of  the  country,  busy  as 
ever  in  their  constant  occupation  of  feeding.  For 
animals  which  perform  no  labor,  they  have  an  egre- 
gious appetite,  eating  as  if  they  were  ]N"ature's  lawn- 
gardeners,  and  were  under  contract  with  her  to  keep 
the  grass  shaved. 

What  an  immense  aggregate  of  animal  power  was 
running  to  waste  before  us.  Those  huge  shoulders, 
to  which  the  w^hole  body  seemed  simply  a  base,  were 
just  the  things  for  neck-yokes.  Others,  indeed,  had 
thought  the  same  before  us,  and  tried  to  utilize  these 
wild  oxen.  A  gentleman  at  Salina,  Kansas,  obtained 
two  buifalo  calves,  and  trained  them  carefully  to  the 
yoke.  They  pulled  admirably,  but  their  very  strength 
proved  a  temptation  to  them.  A  pasture-fence  was 
no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  their  sweet  will.  Not  that 
they  went  over  it,  but  they  simply  walked  through  it, 
boards  being  crushed  as  readily  as  a  willow  thicket. 
In  summer  they  took  the  shortest  road  to  water, 
regardless  of  intervening  obstructions,  and  they 
thought  nothing  of  flinging  themselves  over  a  per- 
pendicular bank,  wagon  and  all.  After  carefully 
calculating  the  result  of  his  experiment  at  the  end  of 
the  first  year,  the  owner  decided  that,  although  he 
undoubtedly  had  a  large  amount  of  power  on  hand,  he 
could  obtain  a  similar  quantity,  at  less  expense,  by 
buying  a  couple  of  steam-engines. 

A  few  months  previous  to  our  trip,  a  contractor  on 
the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad  determined  to  domesti- 


282  BUFFALO   LAND. 

cate  a  young  bison  bull,  and  accordingly  took  it  to  his 
home  at  Cincinnati.  Proving  a  cross  customer,  he 
presented  it  to  the  Longview  Lunatic  Asylum,  near 
that  city,  but  there  was  no  inmate  insane  enough  to 
occupy  the  yard  simultaneously  with  Taurus  for  any 
length  of  time.  The  first  day  he  charged  among  the 
lunatics  in  a  reckless  manner,  eliciting  surprising  ac- 
tivity of  crazy  legs.  If  exercise  for  their  minds  was 
what  the  poor  creatures  needed,  they  certainly 
obtained  it,  by  calculating  when  and  where  to  dodge. 

Without  loss  of  time,  we  set  about  finding  a  gate- 
way into  the  herds.  Looking  at  the  surface  before 
us,  it  appeared  a  level,  unbroken  plain,  quite  to  the 
verge  where  it  rolled  up  against  the  distant  horizon. 
One  would  have  maintained  that  even  a  ditch,  if  there, 
might  be  traced  in  its  meanderings  across  the  smooth 
brown  floor.  Yet  deep  ravines,  miles  in  length, 
wound  in  and  out  among  the  herds,  though  to  us  en- 
tirely invisible.  A  short  search  discovered  one  of 
these,  which  promised  to  answer  our  purpose,  and  to 
lead  to  a  spot  where  a  large  number  of  cows  and  calves 
were  feeding.  Fortunately  the  wind  was  north,  so 
that  we  could  creep  into  its  teeth  without  sending  to 
the  timid  mothers  any  tell-tale  taint. 

The  wagons  were  stopped,  and  we  got  out,  and  de- 
scending into  the  hollow,  moved  forward.  The  walls 
on  either  side  seemed  disagreeably  close.  All  around 
us  was  animal  life,  a  small  portion  of  which  would 
have  been  sufficient,  if  so  disposed,  to  make  the  con- 
cealed path  which  we  were  traversing  a  veritable 
"last  ditch"  to  as.  As  we  entered  the  ravine,  some 
cayotes  slunk  out  of  it  ahead  of  us,  and  one  large 


A  HINT  FOR  MILTONIC  CRITICS.  283 

gray  wolf,  with  long  gallop,  disappeared  over  the 
banks.  The  temptation  to  fire  at  them  was  very 
strong,  but  prudence  and  the  guide  forbade. 

We  picked  up  some  very  fine  specimens  of  "  infer- 
nal grape,"  in  the  form  of  nearly  round  balls  of  iron 
pyrites.  They  lay  upon  the  surface  like  canister-shot 
upon  a  battle-field.  It  seemed  as  if  during  the  early 
period,  when  Mother  Earth  began  to  cool  off  a  little, 
her  fiery  heart  still  palpitated  so  violently  under  her 
thin  bodice,  that  beads  of  the  molten  life  within,  like 
drops  of  perspiration,  had  forced  their  way  through, 
and,  in  cooling,  had  retained  their  bubble-like  form. 
We  could  have  picked  up  a  half-bushel  of  them 
which  would  have  made  very  fair  aliment  for  can- 
non. The  dogs  of  war  could  have  spit  them  out  as 
spitefully  and  fatally  against  human  hearts  as  if  the 
morsels  had  been  prepared  by  human  hands.  From 
such  well-molded  shot,  of  no  mortal  make,  Milton 
might  have  obtained  his  charges  for  those  first  can- 
non which  the  traitor-angel  invented  and  employed 
against  the  embattled  hosts  of  heaven.  Shamus, 
when  he  afterward  became  acquainted  with  the  speci- 
mens, called  them  "  a  rattlin'  shower  of  witches'  peb- 
bles.'^ 

We  also  passed  large  surfaces  of  white  rock,  which 
were  sprinkled  all  over  with  dark,  hollow  balls,  of  a 
vitrified  substance.  Most  of  them  were  imbedded 
midway  in  the  rock,  leaving  a  hemisphere  exposed 
which,  in  color  and  form,  was  an  exact  counterpart 
of  a  large  bomb.  If  the  reader  has  ever  seen  a 
shell  partly  imbedded  in  the  substance  against  which 
it  was  fired,  this  description  will  be  perfectly  plain. 


284  BUFFALO    LAND. 

There  were  indications  that  a  volcano  had  once 
existed  in  this  vicinity,  and  it  seemed  highly  prob- 
able that  the  red-hot  balls  which  it  projected  into 
air  had  fallen  and  cooled  in  the  soft  formation  ad- 
jacent, still  retaining  their  original  shape. 

We  should  have  lingered  longer  over  these  geo- 
logical curiosities,  had  not  the  premonitory  symp- 
toms of  a  scientific  lecture  from  the  Professor 
alarmed  our  guide  into  the  remonstrance,  "  You're 
burnin'  daylight,  gents ! "  and  thus  warned,  we 
pushed  forward. 

A  few  hundred  yards  further  brought  us  to  the 
spot  for  commencing  active  operations.  Dropping 
upon  hands  and  knees,  we  began  crawling  along  the 
side  of  the  ravine  in  a  line,  pushing  our  guns  before 
us.  We  knew  that  the  buffalo  must  be  very  close, 
for  we  could  hear  the  measured  cropping  of  their 
teeth  upon  the  grass.  They  seemed  to  be  feeding 
toward  us,  as  we  slowly  drew  up  to  the  level.  I 
found  myself  trembling  all  over,  so  nervous  that  the 
cracking  of  a  weed  under  our  guns  sounded  to  me  as 
loud  as  a  pistol-shot. 

I  looked  around,  and  the  stories  which  I  had  read 
in  my  youth  of  adventures  in  oriental  lands  rose 
fresh  to  my  memory.  I  almost  imagiiied  our  party 
a  dozen  Avild  Bedouins,  creeping  from  ambush  to 
fire  upon  a  caravan,  the  first  note  of  alarm  to  which 
would  be  a  storm  of  musketry.  Unshaven  faces, 
soiled  clothes,  and  rough  hair,  assisted  us  to  the  per- 
sonation, and  if  aught  else  was  needed  to  carry  out 
the  fancy,  it  soon  came  in  a  low  ^'  Hist ! "  from  the 
guide,  as  he  pointed  to  the  level  above  us.     Follow- 


V. 


i 


OUR   TACTICS   DEVELOPED.  285 

ing  the  direction  of  his  finger,  we  saw  some  hairy- 
lumps,  about  the  size  of  muifs,  not  fifty  yards  in 
front  of  us,  bobbing  up  and  down  just  above  the 
line  which  defined  the  prairie's  edge  against  the  sky. 
For  an  instant,  we  supposed  them  to  be  small 
animals  of  some  sort,  playing  on  the  slope,  but  the 
low  voice  of  the  guide  said,  "  Thar  they  hump, 
gents  !  "  and  we  caught  the  word  at  once,  just  as  the 
whaler  does  the  welcome  cry  of  "  There  she  blows,'* 
from  the  look-out  aloft.  What  we  saw,  of  course, 
were  the  humps  of  bufi^aloes  moving  slowly  forward 
as  they  fed.  At  a  word  from  our  guide,  we  halted 
for  last  preparations. 

"  Fire  at  the  nearest  cows,  gents,"  he  said,  "  and 
if  you  get  one  down,  and  keep  hid,  you  '11  have  lots 
of  shots  at  the  bulls  gatherin'  round." 

Muggs  was  continually  getting  his  gun  crosswise, 
so  that  should  it  go  off  ahead  of  time,  as  usual,  it 
would  shoot  somebody  on  the  left,  and  kick  some 
one  on  the  right.  Just  ahead  of  us,  a  prairie  dog 
sat  on  his  castle  wall,  and  barked  constantly.  But, 
fortunately,  neither  his  signals  nor  our  grumbled 
remonstrances  to  the  Briton  seemed  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  herd  in  the  least  degree. 

A  few  more  feet  of  cautious  crawling,  and  several 
buffaloes  stood  revealed,  a  cow  and  calf  among  the 
number.  The  mother  espied  us,  and  lifting  her  un- 
couth head,  with  its  crooked,  homely  horns,  regarded 
us  for  an  instant  with  a  quiet  sort  of  feminine 
curiosity,  and  then  went  to  feeding  again.  She 
probably  considered  us  a  parcel  of  sneaking  wolves, 
and  being  conscious  of  having  hosts  of  protectors 


286  BUFFALO   LAND. 

near  her,  was  not  at  all  frightened.  Almost  simul- 
taneously, the  guns  of  the  whole  party  were  at 
shoulder,  and  just  as  the  cow  lifted  her  head  again, 
to  watch  the  movement,  we  fired.  The  fate  of  that 
bison  was  as  effectually  sealed  as  that  of  the  con- 
demned army  horse  which  was  first  used  to  tell 
Paris  and  the  world  the  terrors  of  the  mitrailleuse. 
The  poor  creature  gave  a  quick  whirl  to  the  right, 
made  two  convulsive  jumps,  and  then  stQod  still. 
She  dropped  her  nose,  a  gush  of  blood  following 
fast;  her  whole  frame  shuddered,  as  the  air  from  the 
lungs  tried  to  force  its  way  through  the  clotted  tide, 
and  then  she  fell  dead,  almost  crushing  the  calf 
also.  The  smell  of  the  blood  seemed  to  excite  the 
bulls  more  than  the  report  of  the  guns,  which  had 
only  startled  them  for  an  instant.  Some  stood 
stupidly  snuffing  about  the  prostrate  victim,  while 
others,  straightening  out  their  tails,  marched  un- 
easily around. 

Lying  on  the  ground,  and  our  heads  only  visible, 
we  kept  up  a  constant  firing.  It  was  almost  im- 
possible not  to  hit  some  of  the  old  bulls.  The 
veterans  were  wounded  rapidly,  and  in  all  portions 
of  their  bodies.  One  old  fellow,  who  had  been 
standing  with  his  rear  to  us,  suddenly  took  it  into 
his  head  to  run  for  dear  life,  and  away  he  went 
accordingly,  with  his  hams  looking  very  much  like 
the  end  of  a  huge  pepper-box.  Two  or  three  others 
soon  began  to  show  signs  of  grogginess,  being  drunk 
with  the  blood  which  was  collecting  internally  from 
their  many  wounds. 

One    bulky    and    distressed    specimen    suddenly 


EESULT  OF  OUR  FIEST  STALK.  287 

caught  a  glimpse  of  the  Professor's  hat.  Forthwith 
the  tail  was  straightened  and  raised  stiffly  into  the 
air,  the  head  was  lowered,  and  down  he  came  upon 
us  at  full  charge.  Such  a  proceeding,  a  few  days 
before,  would  simply  have  resolved  itself  into  a 
question  whether  he  could  catch  us  or  not.  Now, 
however,  we  stood  our  ground,  or  rather  we  lay 
upon  it  very  firmly,  while  enough  of  us  took  careful 
aim  to  batter  his  bones  fast  and  sorely.  Before 
taking  twenty  steps,  he  was  limping  from  a  shat- 
tered foreleg,  and  in  a  moment  more  came  to  a 
sullen  halt,  and  shook  his  old  head  in  impotent 
rage.  His  eyes  were  fixed  fiercely  upon  ours;  he 
evidently  desired  nothing  in  the  world  so  much  as 
to  get  forward  for  a  closer  acquaintance,  but  his 
broken  bones  forbade.  We  fired  rapidly,  and  fairly 
loaded  his  body  with  lead  before  he  allowed  death  to 
trip  him  from  his  feet.  He  never  took  his  eyes 
from  off  us,  until  the  body  rolled  over,  and  I 
thanked  our  breech-loaders  which  had  prevented  the 
poor  beast  from  having  a  fair  chance. 

Three  buffalo  were  down,  as  the  result  of  our  first 
"stalk."  The  herd  had  fled,  but  the  qalf  we  had 
first  seen  remained  standing  stupidly  by  his  dead 
mother.  *•  Let's  ketch  the  critter,"  said  our  guide, 
and  to  catch  him  we  accordingly  prepared.  The 
first  movement  was  to  surround  him,  which  done,  we 
began  closing  in  upon  him.  He  was  hardly  larger 
than  a  good-sized  goat,  and  we  feared  might  succeed 
in  dodging  us,  but  as  the  circle  narrowed,  our  hopes 
of  securing  a  live  specimen  increased.  Suddenly,  the 
little  fellow  seemed  aware  of  his  danger,  and,  whirl- 


288  BUFFALO   LAND. 

ing  about,  with  head  down,  made  a  dart  for  the  open 
space  between  Sachem  and  the  guide.  As  they  closed 
to  prevent  his  escape,  our  fat  friend  went  down  with 
a  butt  in  the  stomach,  which,  although  far  from 
pleasant,  was  nevertheless  the  occasion  of  sufficient 
delay  on  the  part  of  the  calf  to  enable  the  guide  and 
Semi-Colon  to  lay  firm  hold  upon  him.  It  was 
wonderful  what  a  warlike  little  fellow  he  proved, 
butting  undauntedly  at  our  legs,  and  uttering,  as  he 
did  so,  a  hissing  noise.  "But  me  no  butts,"  ex- 
claimed the  Professor,  with  a  facetiousness  which 
from  him  was  almost  as  amusing  to  the  rest  of  us  as 
the  pugnacity  of  the  calf,  as  he  sprang  aside  to  avoid 
a  blow  on  the  knee,  and  suddenly  recognized  Duty's 
call  in  another  direction.  It  was  not  long,  however, 
before  the  little  animal  was  securely  bound,  and  laid 
in  one  of  the  wagons,  which  by  this  time  had  come 

up- 

The  work  of  skinning   and  cutting  up  our  game 

now  began,  the  robe  of  the  cow  proving  finer  than 

that  from  either  of  the  others.     Our  men  told  us  that 

from  one  position  old  hunters  sometimes  shoot  down 

a  dozen  buffalo  before  the  herd  takes  flight.     Success 

is  much  more  probable  if  the  first  victim  is  a  female. 

Other  herds  invited  our  attention,  and  by  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  had  twenty  quarters  se- 
cured, and  were  returning  to  camp.  Only  the  first 
three  robes  had  been  taken  off,  the  skin  being  left  on 
the  rest  of  the  meat,  the  better  to  preserve  it  from 
soiling. 

Such  hunting  fatigues  one,  and  we  were  glad 
enough  to  see  the  smoke  of  our  fire  rising  from  the 


SHAMUS    AT    A   PREMIUM.  289 

valley,  and  to  anticipate  the  dinner  whicli  we  felt  was 
waiting  for  us.  The  plains  tired  us,  and  so  did  con- 
versation, and  all  instinctively  felt  that  any  attempt 
at  a  joke,  in  our  hungry,  worn  out  condition,  would 
have  caused  an  all  but  fiendish  state  of  feeling.  Mo- 
mus  himself  could  not  have  made  that  party  smile. 
Most  of  us  had  taken  part  in  cutting  up  the  car- 
casses, and  as  we  now  rode  home,  sitting  on  the  skin- 
covered  quarters,  we  looked  like  a  party  of  butchers 
returning  from  the  slaughter-pens. 

As  we  drew  close  to  camp,  how  goodly  a  sight  did 
Shamus  seem,  in  his  white  apron,  bidding  us  "  Hurry 
to  yer  dinner ! "  while  backing  up  his  invitation 
were  the  brown  turkeys,  the  stews  and  roasts,  the 
white  bread  and  yellow  butter,  and  a  clean  table- 
cloth. On  the  spot,  we  could  have  pardoned  Shamus 
all  his  notions  of  witchcraft,  and  I  think  that  Sa- 
chem's charity  just  then  would  even  have  covered 
our  cook's  late  weakness  in  the  line  of  "spooning.'* 
The  Professor's  science,  Colon's  philanthropy.  Sa- 
chem's wealth  of  worldly  wisdom,  and  Muggs' 
British  self-complacency,  all  combined,  offered  no 
such  consolation,  in  this  hour  of  sober  realities,  as 
the  simple  Irishman,  with  his  basting-spoon. 

Water  from  the  brook  and  towels  from  the  chest 
soon  removed  blood  and  dust,  and  dinner  followed. 
Shamus  had  many  a  mark  scored  against  Sachem  for 
attacks  on  himself  and  his  ancestry,  and  ventured 
during  dinner  to  rub  out  one,  by  asking  Tammany, 
in  a  very  respectful  manner,  and  as  if  it  was  a  mat- 
ter of  our  cuisine^  whether  calves'  heads  agreed  with 
his  stomach. 


290  BUFFALO   LAND. 

Wkat  would  have  been  called  in  Washington,  "  an 
unpleasant  episode,"  was  discovered  by  Muggs  in  the 
center  of  a  biscuit.  Taking  a  hearty  British  bite 
from  it,  various  hairy  lines  followed  the  morsel  into 
his  mouth,  and  caught  among  his  teeth.  Examina- 
tion revealed  one  of  Mr.  Colon's  choicest  spiders, 
which  by  some  means  had  effected  his  escape  and 
crawled  into  the  dough.  It  was  hard  to  tell  which 
was  most  incensed,  the  Briton  or  the  entomologist. 
Sachem  remarked  that  the  specimen  was  much 
kneaded,  and  added  it  to  our  bill  of  fare  as  "  game, 
breaded." 

As  night  approached,  our  Mexicans  prepared  for 
w^olf-baiting.  During  the  day  they  had  shot  two  or 
three  old  bulls,  which  wandered  within  half  a  mile  of 
camp,  and  now  the  swarthy  fellows  intended  to  turn 
an  honest  penny.  For  these  purposes  professional 
hunters,  and  occasionally  teamsters  on  the  plains, 
provide  themselves  with  bottles  of  strychnine,  and  a 
quantity  of  this  was  accordingly  produced.  We  went 
with  the  men  to  see  the  operation,  as  it  clearly  came 
within  the  province  of  our  studies.  With  their 
knives  the  Mexicans  cut  from  the  carcass  lumps  of 
flesh  about  the  size  of  one's  fist,  into  which  gashes 
were  made,  doses  of  strychnine  inserted,  and  the  flesh 
then  pressed  together  again.  The  balls,  thus  charged, 
were  scattered  close  around  the  carcass,  and  a  few 
laid  upon  it.  Cuts  were  also  made,  and  the  poison  in- 
troduced in  various  parts  of  the  hams.  As  many  as 
fifty  doses  were  thus  prepared,  and  we  then  returned 
to  camp. 

No  cayote  serenade  occurred  that  night,  the  musi- 


A   NIGHT   OF   QUIET.  291 

cians  evidently  being  busy  drawing  sweetness  from 
the  cords  of  the  slain.  A  solemn  hush  lay  over  the 
land,  for  the  bisons  are  a  quiet  race,  and,  except  in 
novels,  never  take  to  roaring  any  more  than  they  do 
to  ten-mile  charges. 


16 


CHAPTER  XX. 

^MB   CATOTES'    STRYCHNINE   FEAST CAPTURING  A  TIMBER  WOLF — A    FEW  CORDS   01 

VICTIMS ^WHAT  THE  LAW  CONSIDERS    "  INDIAN  TAN  " "  FINISHING  "    THE  JiEW 

YORK  MARKET — A  NEW  YORK  FARMER'S  OPINION  OF  OUR  GRAY  WOLF — WEST- 
T7ARD  AGAIN — EPISODES  IN  OUR  JOURNEY — THE  WILD  HUNTRESS  OF  THE 
PLAINS — WAS  OUR  GUIDE  A  MURDERER? — THE  READER  JOINS  US  IN  A  BUFFALO 
CHASE — THE  DYING  AGONIES. 

THE  next  day's  life  began,  as  did  the  previous 
one,  before  sunrise,  and  while  breakfast  was 
cooking,  we  followed  the  Mexicans  down  to  examine 
their  baits.  The  ground  around  the  carcasses  was 
flecked  with  forms  which,  in  the  early  light,  looked 
like  sleeping  sheep.  A  half-dozen  or  more  wolves, 
which  were  still  feeding,  scampered  away  at  our  ap- 
proach. From  the  number  of  animals  lying  around, 
we  at  first  supposed  most  of  them  simply  gorged,  but 
the  rapid,  satisfied  jabbering  of  the  Mexicans  quickly 
convinced  us  that  the  strychnine  had  been  doing  its 
work  more  efi*ectually  than  we  had  given  it  credit  for. 
Twenty-three  dead  wolves  were  found,  and  the  even 
two  dozen  was  made  up  by  a  large  specimen  of  the 
gray  variety — or  timber-wolf,  as  it  is  called  in  contra- 
distinction from  the  cayote — who  was  exceedingly 
sick,  and  went  rolling  about  in  vain  efforts  to  get  out 
of  the  way. 

Before  proceeding  to  skin  the  dead  wolves,   the 

(292) 


OUR   SHIPMENT  AND   ITS   SEQUEL.  293 

Mexicans  captured  this  old  fellow  and  haltered  him, 
by  carbine  straps,  to  the  horns  of  one  of  the  buffalo 
carcasses,  near  which  he  sat  on  his  haunches,  with 
eyes  yellow  from  rage  and  fright.  Just  to  stir  him 
up,  we  tossed  him  a  piece  of  bone ;  he  caught  it  be- 
tween his  long  fangs  with  a  click  that  made  our  nerves 
twitch.  Man  never  appreciates  the  wonderful  com- 
mand that  God  gave  him  over  the  other  animals  until 
away  from  his  fellows,  and  surrounded  by  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  solitudes,  in  all  their  native  fierceness. 
Here  were  a  few  mortals  of  us  encompassed  by  wolves, 
in  sufficient  numbers  and  power  to  annihilate  our 
party,  and  yet  one  solitary  man  walking  toward  them 
would  have  put  the  whole  brute  multitude  to  flight. 

Although  we  wondered,  at  the  time,  that  so  many 
wolves  were  gathered  from  a  single  baiting,  we  soon 
learned  that  this  success  was  by  no  means  unusual. 
At  Grinnel  Station,  where  a  corporal's  guard  was 
stationed,  we  afterward  saw  over  forty  dead  wolves, 
and  most 'of  them  of  the  gray  variety,  stacked  up, 
like  cord-wood,  as  the  result  of  one  night's  poisoning 
by  the  soldiers. 

The  remainder  of  this  day  was  devoted  to  stalking, 
and  resulted  in  our  obtaining  a  sufficiency  of  robes 
and  meat  to  justify  us  in  sending  the  two  Mexican 
wagons  back  with  them  to  Hays.  Our  two  captives, 
tne  Duffalo  calf  and  wolf,  went  also.  The  history  of 
that  shipment  merits  brief  chronicling. 

The  robes  went  to  St.  Louis,  to  a  man  who  adver- 
tised a  patent  way  of  curing  such  skins,  "  warranted 
as  good  as  Indian  tan."  Some  months  afterward 
they  were  returned  to  Topeka,  duly  finished,  and  I 


294  BUFFALO    LAND. 

find  in  the  official  note-book  the  following  entry. 
"  Robes  received  to-day.  Resolution,  by  the  com- 
pany, to  learn  what  the  law  w^ould  consider  '  Indian 
tan,'  in  a  suit  for  damages."  They  had  been  shaved 
so  thin  that  the  roots  of  the  hair  stuck  out  on  the  in- 
side, while  the  patent  liquid  in  which  they  had  been 
soaked  gave  forth  an  odor  which  would  have  been 
wonderful  for  its  permanency,  if  it  had  not  been  still 
more  wonderful  for  its  offensiveness. 

Of  the  meat,  a  portion  went  to  our  friends,  and  the 
balance  to  Fulton  Market,  New  York.  In  the  first 
quarter,  it  carried  dyspepsia  and  disgust,  and  was  so 
tough  that  the  recipients,  with  the  utmost  effort, 
could  not  find  a  tender  regret  for  our  danger  in 
obtaining  it;  while  our  'New  York  consignee  wrote 
that  the  first  morning's  steaks  "finished  the  market,'* 
and  very  nearly  finished  his  customers.  He  found  it 
impossible,  even  by  the  Fulton  Market  method  of 
subtraction,  to  get  three  hundred  dollars'  worth  of 
express  charges  out  of  half  that  amount  of  sales,  and 
suggested  a  discontinuance  of  shipments.  The  buffalo 
calf  died  on  the  cars,  which  probably  saved  some- 
body's bones  from  being  broken  in  celebration  of  his 
maturity.  The  gray  wolf  got  safely  to  the  State  of 
Xew  York,  but  escaping  soon  after,  a  county  hunt  be- 
came necessary,  to  save  the  sheep  from  total  extinc- 
tion. One  farmer,  in  his  ire,  even  went  so  far  as  to 
threaten  us  with  a  suit  for  violating  the  law,  and  im- 
porting a  pauper  and  disreputable  character  into  the 
State. 

Our  experience  may  be  useful  to  future  hunters,  to 
all  of  whom  we  would  say,  unless  solely  to  find  amuse- 


I 


.THE    ROOF   OF   THE   ROCKIES.  295 

ment,  never  kill  old  bulls.  Cows  and  calves  are 
generally  juicy  and  tender,  but  not  so  the  veterans ; 
they,  after  death,  butt  around  among  one's  digestive 
organs  with  a  ferocity  which  makes  the  liver  ache. 
Being  most  easily  obtained,  bull  beef  is  generally  all 
that  is  sent  to  market,  and  thus  many  a  patriarchal 
bison,  dead,  accomplishes  more  in  retaliation  for  his 
sudden  taking-off  than  the  Fates  ever  permitted  him 
to  do  in  lusty  life. 

A  few  days  more  were  spent  in  our  Silver  Creek 
camp,  and  we  then  folded  our  tents  and  took  a  west- 
ward course,  with  the  purpose  of  examining,  not  only 
the  remoter  regions  of  Kansas,  but  also  the  Colorado 
portion  of  the  plains.  The  new  town  of  Sheridan, 
fourteen  miles  east  of  the  State  line,  and  nine  from 
Fort  Wallace,  was  our  objective  point. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  the  Professor,  as  we  packed 
and  adjusted  our  things  in  the  wagons,  "  we  are  ix)w 
to  climb  for  a  hundred  miles  directly  up  the  roof  of 
the  Rocky  Mountain  water-shed,  its  long  rivers  and 
rich  valleys  forming  the  gutters,  or  spouts,  to  carry 
oif  the  surplus  water." 

Sachem,  who  dreaded  these  lectures  almost  as 
much  as  he  did  crinoline,  interposed  with  soi;ne  of  his 
usual  badinage ;  but  among  irreverent  classes  of  So- 
phomores and  Freshmen,  the  Professor  had  learnt  to 
answer  only  such  questions  as  were  relevant,  and  to 
pass  all  others  by  unheeded.  For  this  reason  such 
interruptions  never  broke  the  thread  of  his  discourse, 
and  but  temporarily  checked  its  unwinding.  In  a  few 
minutes,  however,  the  wagons  started,  and  our  expedi- 


296  BUFFALO  LAND. 

tion  began  crawling  up  the  slope  of  the  Professor's 
metaphorical  roof,  and  thereupon  our  worthy  leader's 
discourse  was  brought  to  a  graceful  conclusion. 

For  four  days  we  continued  our  westward  journey, 
the  soft  grass  carpet  beneath  us  ever  stretching  away 
to  the  horizon  in  its  tiresome  sameness,  its  figures  of 
buifalo  and  antelope,  big  antlered  elk  and  skulking 
wolves  woven  more  beautifully  upon  its  brown  ground 
than  in  the  rug-work  of  the  looms.  How  I  loved  to 
sit  upon  such  rugs,  when  a  child,  and  gaze  at  the 
strange  figures,  as  they  were  lit  up  by  the  fliashing 
fire-light !  Memory  recalled  one  very  impracticable 
reindeer,  which  used  to  lie  just  in  front  of  a  maiden 
aunt's  chair,  representing  a  Brussels  manufacturer's 
idea  of  the  animal.  His  horns  were  longer  than  his 
head,  body  and  tail  combined,  and  the  spring  he  was 
making,  when  transfixed  by  the  loom,  brought  his 
nose  so  close  to  the  ground,  that  my  older  boyhood 
calculated  the  immense  antlers  would  certainly  have 
tipped  him  over  had  he  not  been  held  back  by  the 
threads. 

But  to  return  to  the  plains.  We  examined  high- 
lands and  lowlands  for  poor  soil,  but  found  none. 
What  we  had  once  expected  to  see  a  bed  of  sand,  if 
ever  we  saw  it  at  all,  turned  up  under  the  spade  a  rich 
dark  loam,  in  depth  and  character  fully  equal  to  an 
Illinois  prairie.  Together  with  those  other  legends, 
localized  drought  and  grasshoppers,  the  American 
desert,  when  revealed  by  the  head-light  of  civilization, 
had  taken  to  itself  the  wdngs  of  a  myth,  and  fled 
away.  There  was  a  great  sameness  in  the  climate, 
as  well  as  the  scenery.     Day  followed  day,  with  its 


A   WEIKD   FIGUEE.  297 

sunshine  and    its  winds,  the  latter  being  decidedly 
the  most  disagreeable  feature  of  the  entire  trip. 

Various  episodes  marked  our  journey  from  Silver 
Creek  to  Sheridan.  A  few  only  of  the  more  note- 
worthy incidents  can  be  transferred  to  these  pages. 
They  will  suffice,  however,  as  specimens  of  our  ad- 
ventures, and  help  the  reader,  I  ti^ust,  to  a  better  ac- 
quaintance with  the  free,  wild  life  of  the  West. 

The  second  day  after  leaving  Silver  Creek,  we 
suddenly  encountered  another  specialty  of  the 
plains,  the  "Wild  Huntress."  So  often  has  this 
personage  and  her  male  counterpart  danced,  with 
big  letters  and  a  bowie-knife,  across  yellow  covers, 
that  we  met  the  "original  Jacobs"  of  the  tribe 
gleefully.  She  came  to  us  in  a  cloud  of  buffalo, 
with  black  eyes  glittering  like  a  snake's,  and  coarse 
and  uncombed  hair  that  tangled  itself  in  the  wind, 
and  streamed  and  twisted  behind  her  like  writhing 
vipers.  A  black  riding  habit  flowed  out  in  the 
strong  breeze,  its  train  snapping  like  a  loose  sail, 
and  a  black  mustang  fled  from  her  Indian  lash — the 
dark  wild  horse,  a  fit  carrier  for  such  somber  outfit. 

She  was  introduced  to  us  by  the  bison  herd,  which 
came  thundering  across  our  front,  with  this  strange 
figure  pressing  its  flank  and  darting  hither  and 
thither  from  one  outskirt  of  the  flying  multitude  to 
the  other.  The  reins  lay  loose  on  the  neck  of  her 
mustang,  which  entered  into  the  fierce  chase  like  a 
bloudhound,  doubling  and  twisting  on  its  course 
with  an  agility  that  was  wonderful. 

One  hand  of  the  huntress  held  out  a  holster  re- 


298  BUFFALO   LAND. 

volver,  which  she  fired  occasionally,  but  with  un- 
certain aim,  one  of  the  bullets  indeed  whistling  our 
way.  The  chase  constituted  the  excitement  that  she 
sought,  and  the  pistol  was  little  more  than  a  spur  to 
urge  it  on. 

"That's  Ann,  poor  P — 's  wife,"  said  our  guide. 
"  Crazy  since  the  Indians  killed  her  husband.  He 
was  a  contractor  on  the  railroad ;  his  camp  used  to 
be  just  above  Hays.  She  lives  in  the  old  "dug-out" 
on  the  line  yet,  and  spends  half  her  time  chasing 
buffalo.  She  never  kills  none,  but  that  isn't  what 
she  is  after.  She  wants  to  be  moving,  and  just  as 
wild  as  she  can;  it  sort  o'  relieves  her  mind." 

The  huntress  had  seen  our  outfit,  and  rode  toward 
us.  The  face  was  a  very  plain  one,  with  a  vacant 
yet  anxious  expression,  and  the  tightly-drawn  skin 
seeming  scarcely  to  cover  the  jaw-bones.  She  halted 
before  us,  and  commenced  conversation  at  once. 

"  Good  day,  gentlemen." 

"  Good  day,  madam." 

"  She  always  tells  her  story  to  every  body,"  mut- 
tered the  guide  in  a  low  voice. 

"  Have  you  seen  any  Cheyennes  hereabouts,  gen- 
tlemen? I  sighted  a  party  this  morning,  and  you 
ought  to  have  seen  them  run.  Raven  Dick,  here, 
put  his  best  foot  foremost,  but  they  shook  him  out  of 
sight  in  a  ravine.  Have  n't  any  thing  better  to  do, 
friends,  and  so  I  'm  riding  down  some  buffalo." 

We  could  easily  understand  why  superstitious 
savages  should  run  when  a  maniac  female  of  such 
dismal  aspect  flitted  along  their  trail. 

"  Out  from  Hays,   sirs  ? "  she  continued,  after  a 


THE  huntress'  TALE.  299 

pause.  "I  left  there  yesterday.  Dick  and  I  camped 
last  night.  We  must  be  home  when  the  men  come 
in  from  work  this  eve.  Up,  Rave!"  and  she  struck 
the  mustang  a  cruel  blow,  from  which  he  jumped 
with  quivering  muscles,  onl}^  to  be  violently  curbed. 
For  the  first  time  she  had  just  noticed  our  guide, 
and  sat  for  an  instant  with  her  wild  eyes  eating  a 
way  to  his  heart.     Then  she  turned  again  to  us. 

"  Sirs,  you  must  aid  me.  Some  say  the  Cheyennes 
killed  my  husband,  and  others  there  be  w^ho  think  Abe 
there  did  it.  More  shame  to  me  who  has  to  tell  it, 
but  the  two  had  a  fight  about  a  woman,  some  months 
gone.  It  was  just  after  pay-day,  and  husband  was 
drunk ;  otherwise  he  'd  never  have  bothered  his  head 
about  any  girl  but  the  one  he  married. 

"There  were  blows  and  black  eyes,  and  being  a 
rough  man's  quarrel,  it  ended  with  hand-shaking. 
My  man  came  home,  and  we  sat  by  the  fire  that 
night,  and  I  took  no  notice  that  he  'd  been  wrong,  but 
spoke  of  our  old  home  in  Ohio,  and  asked  him 
w^ould  n't  he  go  back  there  when  the  contract  was 
finished.  And  he  put  his  hand  on  mine,  and  says : 
*  Sis,  if  the  cuts  and  fills  on  the  next  mile  work  to 
jDrofit,  we  '11  go  home.'  Just  then  there  came  a  hiss 
from  the  door  at  our  backs,  and  husband  turned  sharp 
and  quick.  There  was  a  knot-hole  in  the  planks,  and 
its  round  black  mouth,  gaping  from  out  in  the  night 
at  us,  had  spit  the  sound  into  our  ears.  Husband 
he  rose  and  went  to  the  door,  and  fell  back  dying, 
with  an  arrow  in  his  breast.  Some  said  it  was  a 
Cheyenne,  and  others  said  Abe  did  it.  There  were 
lots  of  Indian  bows  in  camp,  and  Cheyennes  don't 


300  BUFFALO   LAND. 

kill  for  the  love  of  it,  but  only  to  steal.  I  'm  going 
to  ask  them,  if  I  can  catch  them,  lid  they  do  it,  and 
if  not,  I  know  who  did.  I  've  a  bow,  Abe,  and  an 
arrow  too,  and  I  hope  his  blood  is  n't  on  your  hands." 

"  I  did  n't  do  it,  Ann.  I  do  n't  shoot  no  man  in  the 
dark,"  replied  our  hostler  guide,  with  a  sullen  de- 
fiance, which  among  that  class  stands  equally  well 
for  innocence  or  guilt.  We  looked  at  the  two,  as 
they  sat  for  an  instant  facing  each  other.  The  pict- 
ure was  a  weird  one — a  wildcat,  fronting  the  ob- 
ject of  its  chase,  but  undecided  whether  to  spring 
or  not.  We  felt  that  the  dark  maniac  had  been 
hovering  around  us,  and  that  this  meeting  was  not 
altogether  accidental.  Her  disordered  brain  was  yet 
undecided  in  which  direction  vengeance  lay,  and,  like 
a  tigress,  she  was  watching  and  waiting. 

Our  policy  developed,  on  the  instant,  into  a  non-com- 
mittal and  a  safe  one.  As  she  wheeled  her  horse,  and 
left  us  without  a  word,  we  remarked  to  our  guide  that 
crazy  folks  were  often  suspicious  of  their  best  friends. 

^^That  's  so,"  he  replied,  and  rode  oif  to  urge  on  the 
wagons.  We  shrank  from  the  idea  of  living  with  a 
murderer,  and  acquitted  him  of  the  crime  on  the  spot. 

We  are  moving  out  over  the  grand,  illimitable 
plain  again.  Reader,  ride  with  us  awhile  by  the  side 
of  that  big  bison  bull,  which  we  have  just  stirred  up 
from  his  noonday  dream.  You  see  his  broad  nostrils, 
reddish  just  under  the  dark  skin  at  the  end,  and 
sensitive  as  the  nose  of  a  pointer.  They  have  caught 
the  air  which  we  tainted,  while  passing  for  a  moment 
across  the  breeze. 


THE  READER  AND  I  IN  CHASE.  303 

He  has  seen  nothing,  and  we  are  still  invisible,  but 
he  does  not.  stop  to  look  behind.  "  Escape  for  your 
life!"  has  been  as  plainly  telegraphed  from  nose  to 
brain,  as  it  could  be  by  eyes  or  mouth.  We  were  so 
far  off  and  well  hidden  then,  that  those  active  tell- 
tales, sound  and  sight,  could  play  no  part  in  this 
alarm.  But  the  sentinel  nerves  of  smell  fled  back 
from  their  post  on  the  frontier,  with  the  cry  of 
"Man  !  "  and  the  beast  of  the  wilderness  thinks  only 
of  flight.  Powerful  for  defense  against  the  rest  of 
the  animal  creation,  he  is  coward  on  the  instant  be- 
fore its  king. 

Away  he  goes,  right  into  the  teeth  of  the  wind, 
which  he  knows  will  tell  him  of  any  other  foes  ahead. 
Lumber  along,  old  fellow,  in  your  ponderous  gallop, — 
the  reader  and  I  are  on  your  path.  Our  saddle  girths 
have  been  tightly  drawn,  the  holster  pistols  are  nestled 
snug  at  hand,  in  their  cases  on  either  side  of  the 
saddle-horn,  while  across  its  front  lies  the  light  Henry 
carbine,  with  a  shoulder-strap  attaching  it  to  our  per- 
son, should  we  drop  the  gun  for  the  pistol.  Thus  we 
ride  with  twenty-four  shots  before  reloading,  at  the 
service  of  our  trigger-finger;  the  carbine  carries 
twelve,  the  pistols  each  a  half-dozen. 
•  How  warm  we  have  become.  Our  hearts  are  as 
high  up  as  they  can  get,  bumping  away  at  the  throat- 
valves,  as  if  they  wished  to  get  out  and  see  what  it  is 
that  has  called  their  reserves  into  action. 

There  is  a  muskish  taint  in  the  air,  from  the  game 
ahead.  Put  in  your  spurs,  comrade  ;  do  n't  spare. 
Get  up  beside  him  quickly  as  possible.  Once  there, 
the  horses   will    easily   stick.     A   stern   chase   dis- 


304  BUFFALO   LAND. 

heartens  the  pursuer,  encourages  the  pursued.  Look 
out  for  that  creek !  See  how  the  buifalo  takes  its  steep 
bank — a  plunge  headlong,  which  sends  the  dust  up  in 
clouds.  Now,  as  we  check  and  turn  into  a  ford,  he  is 
going  up  the  opposite  side. 

Another  hundred  yards,  and  we  are  close  beside  him. 
The  long  tongue  is  hung  out,  and  his  head  lies  low 
down,  as  he  plunges  steadily  forward,  diverging  ever 
so  little  as  we  press  up  opposite  his  fore-shoulders. 
That  was  a  bad  shot,  my  friend,  barely  missing  your 
horse's  head.  Shooting  at  full  gallop  is  like  drawing- 
straight  lines  while  being  shaken. 

Some  of  our  bullets  are  telling ;  you  can  hear  them 
crack  on  his  hide.  There  is  a  red  spot  now,  not  bigger 
than  the  point  of  one's  finger,  opposite  a  lung,  and  drops 
of  blood  trickle,  with  the  saliva,  from  his  jaws.  Half 
a  score  of  balls  have  been  pelted  into  his  big  body, 
and  he  is  bleeding  internally.  Now  the  blood  comes 
thicker,  and  little  clots  of  it  drop  down.  He  slows 
up — there  is  danger ;  look  well  to  your  seat ! 

That  was  a  narrow  escape,  comrade.  The  bull 
suddenly  whirled  on  his  forefeet  for  a  pivot,  and 
your  horse's  chest,  which  was  brushing  his  hind-quar- 
ters, grazed  the  black  horns  as  they  dipped  for  a 
plunge.     The  pony's  swerve  barely  saved  you  both. 

Now  he  stands  sullen,  glaring  at  us.  The  wounds 
look  like  little  points  of  red  paint,  put  deftly  on  his 
shaggy  hide.  They  bleed  inwardly,  just  crimsoning 
the  brown  hair  at  their  mouths.  The  large  eyes  roll 
and  swell  with  pain  and  fury.  He  is  measuring  our 
distance. 

See  him  blow  the  blood  from  his  nostrils.     The 


WAS  THERE  EVER  ANOTHER  SUCH  ?  305 

drops  scatter  like  red-hot  shot  around  him,  seeming 
to  hiss  in  globules  of  fury,  as  they  spatter  upon  the 
dry  grass.  Bladder-like  bubbles  sputter  in  ebb  and 
flow,  from  the  red  holes  over  his  lungs.  Tiny  doors, 
for  death's  messengers  to  have  entered  in  at. 

What  a  marvel  of  size  and  ferocity  he  looks. 
Only  our  horse's  legs  stand  between  us  and  disem- 
bowelment.  Down  drops  the  head  into  battery  again, 
and  his  rush  would  knock  us  over  like  nine-pins,  did 
we  stay  to  receive  it.  But  bison  charges  are  short 
ones.  Our  animals  spring  away,  and  he  stops.  Signs 
of  grogginess  are  coming  on  him.  How  he  hates  to 
feel  his  knees  shake,  straightening  them  out  with  a 
jerk,  as  we  thought  he  was  just  going  down. 

But  at  last  gradually  and  gracefully  he  sinks, 
doubling  his  legs  under  him,  and  resting  on  his  belly. 
There  is  still  no  flurry,  or  motion  of  any  kind  denoting 
pain.  Unconquerable  to  the  death,  he  suddenly  falls 
on  his  side,  the  limbs  stiffen,  and  he  is  dead. 

Twine  your  hands  in  the  long  beard,  and  in  the 
mane.  How  he  shames  the  lion,  for  whom  he  could 
furnish  coats  half  a  dozen  times  over.  What  switches 
of  hair  those  black  fetlocks  would  make.  Was  there 
ever  another  so  big  a  bison  ? 

Wondering  over  this,  we  lie  down  on  the  prostrate 
bulk,  and  wait  for  the  wagon. 


CHAPTER   XXI 


"  CREASING  "  WILD  HORSES — MUGGS  DISAPPOINTED — A  FEAT  FOR  FICTION — 
HORSE  AND  MONKEY — HOOP  WISDOM  FOR  TURFMEN — PROSPECTIVE  CLIMATIC 
CHANGES     ON     THE     PLAINS — THE     QUESTION    OF    SPONTANEOUS    GENERATION — 

WANTON    SLAUGHTER   OP    BUFFALO AMOUNT  OP    ROBES  AND   MEAT    ANNUALLY 

WASTED — A  STRANGE    HABIT  OP     THE    BISON — NUMEROUS    BILLS — THE  "  SNEAK 
THIEF  "  OP  THE  PLAINS. 


w 


HILE  we  were  at  breakfast  one  morning,  the 
guide  ran  in  to  say  that  the  herd  of  wild  horses 
which  we  had  seen  on  Silver  Creek,  were  feeding 
toward  us,  a  mile  away.  I  left  the  table  to  obtain 
a  view  of  them,  and  by  Abe's  advice  carried  my 
rifle,  as  he  suggested  that  we  might  "crease"  one 
of  them.  This  feat  consists  in  hitting  the  upper 
edge  of  the  bones  of  the  neck  with  a  bullet,  the  blow 
striking  so  high  up  that  it  will  momentarily  paralyze, 
without  fracturing.  We  had  read  of  it  often  in  tales 
of  Western  daring,  where  the  hero  mounted  the 
prostrate  steed,  and,  upon  its  return  to  consciousness, 
escaped  on  its  back  from  numberless  difficulties  and 
hosts  of  Indians. 

A  short  distance  out  from  camp,  we  turned  and  saw 
Muggs  following  us  with  a  saddle  and  bridle  on  his 
arm.  He  had  suffered  grievous  wrong  at  the  heels 
of  his  mule,  and  was  bent  on  possessing  himself  of 

(306) 


MY   OPINION   OF   CREASING.  307 

one  of  our  creased  horses.  After  creeping,  with  al- 
most infinite  caution,  within  seventy-five  yards,  we 
succeeded  in  placing  our  bullets  exactly  where  we 
intended,  thereby  knocking  dow^n  two  victims,  who 
at  once  became  insensible — and  no  wonder,  for  their 
bones  were  as  effectually  fractured  as  if  they  had 
been  struck  with  a  sledge-hammer.  Muggs'  faith  in 
the  theory  of  creasing,  however,  was  unbounded.  Up 
he  ran  and  buckled  on  the  saddle,  and  got  one  foot 
in  the  stirrup,  ready  to  swing  himself  into  the  seat, 
when  the  animal  rose. 

After  waiting  about  ten  minutes,  our  Briton  con- 
cluded that  a  dead  horse  was  poor  riding,  and  left 
us  with  a  very  emphatic  statement  that,  in  his 
opinion,  capturing  a  mount  with  a  rifle  was  "  another 
blarsted  Hamerican  lie,  you  know !  " 

I  afterward  conversed  with  several  plainsmen 
about  the  merits  of  "creasing,"  and  found  that  their 
attempts  had  invariably  ended  in  the  same  way  as 
ours  had  done.  The  feat  may  have  been  possible 
with  smooth-bore  rifles,  in  the  hands  of  those  remark- 
able hunters  of  old,  who  were  able  to  shoot  away  the 
breath  of  a  pigeon,  and  hit  the  eye  of  a  flying  hawk ; 
but  with  breech-loaders  I  unhesitatingly  pronounce 
creasing  an  utter  impossibility.  The  achievement 
sounds  well  in  theory,  but,  like  much  else  of  popular 
Western  lore  is  somewhat  impracticable  when  fairly 
tested.  I  have  an  idea  that  the  principal  market 
value  of  "creased"  horses  in  the  future,  as  in  the 
past,  will  be  derived  from  furnishing  creatures  of  ro- 
mance with  fearful  rides.  For  this  purpose,  a  cracked 
skeleton  would  be  as  apt  as  a  sound  one,  to  carry  the 


308  BUFFALO   LAND. 

rider   into    many   of  the  scenes   with  which  these 
tales  are  wont  to  harrow  our  souls. 

While  crawling  up  on  the  herd,  we  took  its  census 
very  carefully.  I  was  a  little  surprised  to  find  there 
were  but  twenty-five  horses,  all  told.  They  were  ap- 
parently a  little  larger  than  the  wild  ones  of  Texas, 
and  had  bushy  manes  and  tails,  and  their  step  was 
remarkably  firm  and  elastic.  They  were  exceedingly 
timid  creatures,  raising  their  heads  constantly,  to 
gaze  around.  One  very  interesting  circumstance  con- 
nected with  the  herd  was  that  among  these  wild 
horses  we  noticed  two  strangers;  one,  a  feeble  old 
buffalo  bull,  expelled  from  his  tribe,  and  seeking 
their  aid  against  the  wolves,  and  the  other,  the  black 
pacing  stallion. 

When  we  fired,  the  survivors  were  off  on  the  in- 
stant, and  the  manner  in  which  their  clean  hoofs 
struck  the  earth,  and  spurned  it,  was  truly  worth  see- 
ing. No  heaves  either,  it  was  plain  to  see,  had  ever 
troubled  those  full  chests.  We  caught  sight  of  the 
herd  awhile  after,  on  a  ridge  four  miles  away,  and 
they  were  still  running  at  full  speed.  These  were  the 
only  wild  horses  we  saw  on  our  trip.  In  fact,  but  two 
or  three  small  droves  are  believed  to  exist  on  the 
plains,  as  the  great  mass  of  the  shaggy-maned 
thousands,  children  of  those  old  Spanish  castaways, 
swarm  nearer  the  Pacific. 

So  timid  and  fleet  are  these  horses  that  none  of 
them  have  ever  been  captured  except  during  the  early 
spring.  They  are  then  poor,  and,  by  hard  spurring, 
can  be  ridden  down.  At  other  times  their  bottom, 
and  the  advantage  of  having  no  weight  to  carry,  in- 


THE   SOREOWS   OF   CIVILIZED   HORSE-FLESH.    309 

sure  tlieir  safety.  It  is  quite  probable,  however, 
that  a  systematic  pursuit,  of  the  kind  practiced  in 
Texas,  might  prove  successful  at  any  season  of  the 
year. 

I  gazed  at  our  two  victims  with  less  satisfaction 
than  at  any  thing  I  had  ever  killed.  Shooting  horses, 
dear  reader,  is  a  good  deal  like  shooting  monkeys. 
They  are  both  too  intimately  associated  with  man  to 
be  made  food  for  his  powder.  One  is  a  very  true  and 
faithful  servant,  and  the  other,  if  we  may  believe  Mr. 
Darwin,  was  once  his  ancestor. 

In  examining  the  two  handsome  bodies  lying  there, 
I  noticed  one  fact  to  which  I  should  have  liked  to 
draw  the  attention  of  the  whole  learned  fraternity  of 
blacksmiths,  who  mutilate  horses,  the  world  over. 
The  hoofs  were  as  solid  and  as  sound  as  ivory,  with- 
out a  crack  or  wrong  growth  of  any  sort.  And  why? 
Turning  them  up,  the  secret  lay  exposed ;  for  there, 
filling  the  cavity  within — a  sponge  of  life-giving  oil — 
was  the  frog  entire,  just  as  Nature  made  and  kept  it. 
Its  business  was  to  feed  and  moisten  the  hoof,  and 
this  it  had  done  perfectly.  'No  blacksmith  had  ever 
gouged  it  out  with  his  knife,  and  robbed  it  anew  at 
every  shoeing. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  equine  race,  in  its  wild 
state,  has  none  of  the  ills  of  the  species  domesticated. 
The  sorrows  of  horse-flesh  are  the  fruits  of  civiliza- 
tion. By  the  study  and  imitation  of  Nature's 
methods,  we  could  greatly  increase  the  usefulness  of 
these  valuable  servants,  and  remove  temptation  from 
the  paths  of  many  men  who  lead  blameless  lives,  ex- 
cept in  the  single  matter  of  horse-trades.  It  may 
17 


310  BUFFALO   LAND. 

well  be  queried,  perhaps,  whether  even  the  patient 
man  of  Uz,  had  he  been  laid  up  by  a  runaway  colt 
instead  of  boils,  could  have  resisted  the  temptation 
to  trade  it  off  upon  Bildad  the  Shuhite,  when  that 
individual  came  to  condole  with  him. 

As  we  journeyed  onward,  we  found  the  soil  ever 
the  same,  in  depth  and  strength  equal  to  an  Illinois 
prairie.  The  old  cretaceous  ocean,  and  the  great 
lakes,  certainly  left  it  rich  in  deposits.  When  its  sur- 
face shall  have  been  broken  by  the  plow,  and  the 
water-fall  absorbed  instead  of  shed  off,  the  plains  will 
resemble,  in  appearance  and  products,  any  other 
prairie  country.  The  amount  of  moisture  annually 
passing  over  them,  in  storm-clouds  that  burst  further 
east,  is  abundantly  sufficient  to  make  the  tract  very 
fertile.  It  is  a  well  established  fact  in  relation  to 
climatic  influences,  that  moisture  attracts  moisture ; 
and  in  this  region  the  dry  ground,  with  its  few  shallow 
streams,  has  now  no  claim  upon  the  summer  clouds. 
The  tough  buffalo  grass  has  put  a  lock-jaw  on  the 
plain.  It  can  drink  nothing  from  the  floods  of  the 
rainy  season.  But  pry  open  the  hungry  mouth  with 
the  plowshare,  and  the  earth  will  drink  greedily. 
The  moisture  then  absorbed,  given  up  through  the 
agency  of  capillary  attraction,  will  draw  the  showers 
of  summer,  as  they  are  passing  over.  Already  a 
marked  change  has  taken  place  over  a  portion  of  the 
plains,  and  crops  have  been  grown  as  far  west  as 
Fort  Wallace. 

The  subject  of  spontaneous  generation,  I  may  re- 
mark in  this  connection,  became  a  very  interesting 
one  to  our  party.     Wherever  the  soil  has  been  dis 


A   STARTLING   CALCULATION.  311 

turbed.  wild  sun-flowers  spring  suddenly  into  exist- 
ence. The  "grading  camps"  of  the  railroads  were 
followed  by  belts  of  these  self-asserting  annuals. 
The  first  garden-patch  cultivated  at  Fort  Wallace 
had  weeds  and  insects  similar  to  those  that  infest 
gardens  elsewhere.  In  some  cases  hundreds  of  miles 
of  barren  plain  intervened  between  the  spots  where 
the  seeds  germinated,  and  the  nearest  points  where 
other  plants  of  the  same  variety  grew.  Neither  birds 
or  wind  could  have  carried  the  seeds  in  such  quanti- 
ties. Is  the  theory  true  that  germs  fall  down  to  us 
from  other  planets?  Or,  do  not  the  plains  offer  a 
strong  argument  on  behalf  of  spontaneous  genera- 
tion ? 

Another  matter  on  which  the  plains  appealed  to  us 
strongly,  pertained  to  the  wanton  destruction  of  its 
wild  cattle.  During  the  year  1871,  about  fifty 
thousand  buffalo  were  killed  on  the  plains  of  Kansas 
and  Colorado  alone.  Of  this  number,  it  will  be  cor- 
rect to  estimate  that  about  one-third  were  shot  for 
their  robes,  as  many  more  for  meat,  and  sixteen 
thousand  or  so  for  sport.  Each  buffalo  could  proba- 
bly have  furnished  five  hundred  pounds  of  meat  and 
tallow,  the  quantity  of  the  latter  being  small.  When 
killed  for  food,  only  the  hind  quarters  and  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  loin  are  saved,  in  all  perhaps  two  hundred 
pounds.  The  hides  of  these  are  sacrificed,  the  skin 
being  cut  with  the  quarters,  and  left  on  them  for 
their  protection.  The  profits  of  this  great  slaughter 
would,  therefore,  be  about  16,500  robes  and  3,300,000 
pounds  of  meat ;  the  waste  over  33,000  robes,  and 
probably  not  less  than  20,000,000  pounds  of  meat. 


312  ,         BUFFALO    LAND. 

In  this  computation,  the  vast  herds  which  range 
further  north  are  not  included.  There,  however,  the 
w^aste  is  comparatively  small,  as  the  red  man  is  in 
the  habit  of  saving  the  greater  portion  of  the  flesh 
and  robes.  Of  the  above  twenty  million  pounds  of 
meat  left  to  rot  in  the  sun,  and  taint  the  air  of  the 
plains,  the  greater  proportion  would  furnish  sweeter 
and  more  nourishing  food  to  the  poor  classes  of  our 
cities  than  the  beef  which  they  are  able  to  obtain. 

Let  this  slaughter  continue  for  ten  years,  and  the 
bison  of  the  American  continent  will  become  extinct. 
The  number  of  valuable  robes  and  pounds  of  meat 
which  would  thus  be  lost  to  us  and  posterity,  will  run 
too  far  into  the  millions  to  be  easily  calculated.  All 
over  the  plains,  lying  in  disgusting  masses  of  putre- 
faction along  valley  and  hill,  are  strewn  immense 
carcasses  of  wantonly  slain  buffalo.  They  line  the 
Kansas  Pacific  Railroad  for  two  hundred  miles. 

Following  ordinary  sporting  parties  for  an  hour 
after  they  have  commenced  smiting  the  borders  of 
a  herd,  stop  by  a  few  of  the  monsters  that  they 
leave  behind,  in  pools  of  blood,  upon  the  grass; 
draw  your  hunting-knife  across  the  fat  hind-quar- 
ters, and  see  how  the  cuts  reveal  depths  of  sweet, 
nourishing  meat,  sufficient  to  supply  two  hundred 
starving  wretches  with  an  abundant  ^dinner;  then 
if  your  humanity  does  not  tempt  to  a  shot  at  the 
worse  than  pot-hunters  in  front,  God's  bounties  have 
indeed  been  thrown  away  upon  you. 

By  law,  as  stringent  in  its  provisions  as  possible, 
no  man  should  be  suffered  to  pull  trigger  on  a  buf- 
falo, unless  he  will  make  practical  use  of  the  robe 


A   CRUEL   PASTIME.  313 

and  tlie  meat.  What  would  be  thought  of  a  hunter, 
in  any  of  the  Western  States,  who  shot  quails  and 
chickens  and  left  them  where  they  fell  ?  Every  citi- 
zen, whether  sportsman  or  not,  would  join  in  outcry 
against  him.  Another  matter  which  the  law  should 
regulate  relates  to  the  protection  of  the  buffalo  cows 
until  after  the  season  when  they  have  brought  forth 
their  young.  The  calf  will  thrive,  though  weaned 
by  necessity  at  a  very  early  age,  and  the  season  for 
shooting  cows,  although  short,  would  be  amply  long 
enough  to  comport  with  the  chances  of  future  increase. 

Probably  the  most  cruel  of  all  bison-shooting 
pastime,  is  that  of  firing  from  the  cars.  During  cer- 
tain periods  in  the  spring  and  fall,  when  the  large 
herds  are  crossing  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad,  the 
trains  run  for  a  hundred  miles  or  more  among  count- 
less thousands  of  the  shaggy  monarchs  of  the  plains. 
The  bison  has  a  strange  and  entirely  unaccountable 
instinct  or  habit  which  leads  it  to  attempt  crossing  in 
front  of  any  moving  object  near  it.  It  frequently 
happened,  in  the  time  of  the  old  stages,  that  the 
driver  had  to  rein  up  his  horses  until  the  herd  which 
he  had  startled  had  crossed  the  road  ahead  of  him. 
To  accomplish  this  feat,  if  the  object  of  their  fright 
was  moving  rapidly,  the  animals  would  often  run  for 
miles. 

When  the  iron-horse  comes  rushing  into  their  soli- 
tudes, and  snorting  out  his  fierce  alarms,  the  herds, 
though  perhaps  a  mile  away  from  his  path,  will  lift 
their  heads  and  gaze  intently  for  a  few  moments 
toward  the  object  thus  approaching  them  with  a  roar 
which  causes  the  earth  to  tremble,  and  enveloped 


314  BUFFALO   LAND. 

in  a  white  cloud  that  streams  further  and  higher  than 
the  dust  of  the  old  stage-coach  ever  did;  and  then, 
having  determined  its  course,  instead  of  fleeing  back 
to  the  distant  valleys,  away  they  go,  charging  across 
the  ridge  over  which  the  iron  rails  lie,  apparently 
determined  to  cross  in  front  of  the  locomotive  at  all 
hazards.  The  rate  per  mile  of  passenger  trains  is 
slow  upon  the  jDlains,  and  hence  it  often  happens  that 
the  cars  and  buffalo  will  be  side  b}^  side  for  a  mile  or 
two,  the  brutes  abandoning  the  effort  to  cross  only 
w^hen  their  foe  has  merged  entirely  ahead.  During 
these  races  the  car-windows  are  opened,  and  numer- 
ous breech-loaders  fling  hundreds  of  bullets  among 
the  densely  crowded  and  flying  masses.  Many  of  the 
poor  animals  fall,  and  more  go  off  to  die  in  the  ra- 
vines. The  train  speeds  on,  and  the  scene  is  repeated 
every  few  miles  until  Buffalo  Land  is  passed. 

Another  method  of  wanton  slaughter  is  the  stalk- 
ing of  the  herds  by  men  carrying  needle-guns.  These 
throw  a  ball  double  the  weight  of  the  ordinary 
carbine,  and  the  shot  is  effective  at  six  hundred 
yards.  Concealed  in  ravines,  the  hunter  causes  ter- 
rible havoc  with  such  weapons  before  the  herd  takes 
flight.  We  were  never  guilty  of  ambushing  after 
those  two  days  on  the  Saline,  and  of  those  occasions 
we  were  heartily  ashamed  ever  afterward. 

One  specialty  of  the  plains  that  deserves  mention, 
and  quite  as  remarkable  as  its  brutes  and  plants, 
though  of  rather  more  modern  origin,  is  its  numer- 
ous Bills.  Of  these,  we  became  acquainted,  before 
our  trip  was  ended,  with  the  following  distinct  speci- 
mens:     Wild   Bill,    Buffalo   Bill,    California   Bill, 


A   TKIBUTE    TO  THE   CAYOTE.  317 

Rattlesnake  Bill,  and  Tiger  Bill,  the  last  named  be- 
ing, as  one  of  our  men  who  had  played  with  him  re- 
marked, the  "dangererest  on  'em  all."  We  also 
heard  of  a  Camanche  Bill  and  an  Apache  Bill,  but 
these  celebrities  it  was  not  our  fortune  to  meet. 

I  can  not  dismiss  the  peculiar  characters  of  the 
plains  without  again  paying  tribute  to  that  unap- 
proachable thief,  the  cayote.  Let  no  party  of  travel- 
ers leave  any  thing  exposed  in  camp  lighter  than  an 
anvil.  We  lost,  in  one  night,  at  the  hands — or 
rather  the  jaws — of  these  slinking  sneak-thieves  of 
the  plains,  a  boot,  a  pair  of  leather  breeches,  and  a 
half-quarter  of  buffalo  calf,  besides  some  smaller 
articles. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

A  tlVB  TOWN  AND  ITS  GRAVE-YARD — HONEST  ROMBEAUX  IN  TROUBLE — JUDGE  LYNOR 
HOLDS  COURT — MARIE  AND  THE  VINE-COVERED  COTTAGE — THE  TERRIBLE  FLOODS 

DEATH   IN  CAMP   AND  IN  THE  DUG-OUT — WAS  IT  THE  WATER   WHICH    DID  IT  ? 

— DISCOVERY  OP  A  HUGE  FOSSIL— THE  MOSASAURUS  OP  THE  CRETACEOUS  SEA — 
A  GLIMPSE  OP  THE  REPTILIAN  AGE — REMINISCENCES  OF  ALLIGA']K)R-SHOOTINQ  — 
THKY  SUGGEST  A  THEORY. 

OUR  fourth  day's  travel  from  Silver  Creek 
brought  us  to  Sheridan,  our  secondary  base  of 
operations,  so  to  speak,  and  only  fourteen  miles  east 
of  the  Colorado  border.  We  found  the  town  a  very 
lively  one,  notwithstanding  that  the  grave-yard, 
beautifully  located  in  a  commanding  position  over- 
looking the  principal  street,  was  patronized  to  a  re- 
markable extent.  The  place  had  built  itself  up  as 
simply  the  temporary  terminus  of  the  Pacific  Rail- 
road. Soon  after  our  visit  it  moved  westward,  and 
at  last  accounts  but  one  house  remained  to  mark  its 
former  site. 

The  shades  of  night  had  just  settled  over  the  town 
upon  the  evening  of  our  arrival,  when  Abe,  our 
hostler-guide,  came  running  to  us  with  information 
that  "  Honest  Rombeaux,"  another  of  our  hostlers, 
was  being  hung  by  some  of  the  citizens.  The  local- 
ity which  had  been  selected  for  this  little  diversion 
was  a  railroad  trestle  a  short  distance  below  the 

(318) 


IN  JUDGE  lynch's  jury-box.  319 

town.  We  were  already  acquainted  with  the  pen- 
chant our  Sheridanites  had  for  hanging  people. 
Thirty  or  more  graves  on  the  neighboring  hill  had 
been  pointed  out  before  sundown,  as  those  of  persons 
who  had  fallen  under  sentence  from  Judge  Lynch.  In 
the  expressive  language  of  the  citizen  who  volun- 
teered the  information,  there  had  been  "  thirty  funer- 
als, and  not  one  nateral  death."  'Now  that  Judge 
Lynch  had  opened  court  at  our  own  door,  we  pro- 
posed to  raise  the  question  of  jurisdiction. 

Armed,  at  once,  we  set  oif  for  a  rescue,  and,  stum- 
bling through  the  darkness,  had  gone  only  a  hundred 
yards  or  so,  when  we  met  the  lynchers  returning.  At 
their  head,  with  a  very  dirty  piece  of  rope  around  his 
neck,  walked  our  hostler,  trembling  all  over,  and 
chattering  broken  English  rapidly,  in  mingled  fright 
and  anger.  The  leader  of  the  party  told  us  that  the 
evidence  not  being  quite  sufficient  for  hanging,  an  ex- 
tra session  of  court  had  been  called  to  be  held  im- 
mediately, and  as  having  some  interest  in  the  case, 
w^e  were  invited  to  seats  on  the  jury.  The  trial,  we 
were  further  informed,  was  to  be  held  in  Rombeaux's 
own  house.  This  last  was  a  new  surprise,  for  reasons 
to  be  explained  presently.  Rombeaux  had  been  with 
us  ever  since  leaving  Hays,  and  had  gained  his  title 
of  "  Honest "  from  a  particularly  faithful  discharge 
of  duty. 

To  him  had  been  intrusted  the  supplies  for  hired 
men  and  horses.  Three  of  the  Mexicans  he  had 
severally  thrashed  for  stealing.  Once,  in  the  night, 
on  Silver  Creek,  we  had  heard  a  rattling  at  the  medi- 
cine-chest, and  trembling  for  our  limited  stock  of 


320  BUFFALO   LAND. 

spirits,  stole  forth  to  catch  the  culprit.  On  his  knees 
by  the  open  box  was  Rombeaux,  replacing  the 
brandy-bottle,  and  we  feared  that  he,  too,  had  become 
a  thief.  But  just  then,  on  the  still  air,  came  words 
of  thanks  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  for  having  enabled  him 
to  awake  in  time  to  frighten  away  the  robber.  Nor 
was  this  all;  in  the  fierceness  of  his  indignation,  we 
beheld  him  sally  forth  immediately  afterward,  and 
kick  a  sleeping  Mexican  out  of  his  blankets,  on  sus- 
picion. Thereupon,  we  went  back  to  bed  with  im- 
plicit faith  in  Rombeaux,  which  had  followed  us  ever 
since. 

Had  he  not  told  us,  moreover,  of  a  vine-covered 
cottage  in  France,  where  pretty  Marie  watched  and 
waited  until  her  lover  could  earn  dowry  sufficient  to 
match  hers?  It  was  the  old  story.  A  maiden  fair 
tarried  in  Europe,  while  a  true  knight  ransacked 
foreign  lands  for  fame  and  fortune ;  and  long  since 
had  all  of  us,  save  Sachem,  exhausted  our  stock  of 
spare  change  to  hasten  the  reunion. 

Passing  some  of  the  lowest  and  most  flashy-look- 
ing saloons  in  the  place,  we  entered  a  ravine,  and 
soon  stopped  before  a  "  dug-out."  So  much  was  it  the 
work  of  excavation,  that  the  dirt  roof  was  level  with 
the  earth  above,  and  the  door  seemed  to  open  directly 
into  the  bank.  We  knocked,  and  were  answered 
promptly  by  a  fat,  gayly  dressed  French  woman. 
This  was  Rombeaux's  wife,  and  here  was  Rom- 
beaux's  house.  What  a  Marie  and  vine-clad  cottage 
these ! 

Without  delay  the  trial  commenced,  the  French- 
man and  his  wife  occupying  places  in  the  center,  and' 


THE    EVIDENCE   ADDUCED.  321 

the  court  seated  on  boxes,  barrels,  and  the  bed.  The 
evidence  taken  that  night  in  the  cabin  was  sub- 
stantially the  following : 

Two  years  before  Jules  Pigget,  a  native  of  France, 
accompanied  by  his  young  wife,  appeared  on  the  rail- 
road below,  and  solicited  work.  They  both  found 
ready  employment,  and  lived  below  Hays,  in  a  dug- 
out, happy  and  prosperous.  Within  a  year  came 
another  Frenchman,  our  present  Honest  Rombeaux. 
Across  the  water,  he  and  Jules  had  been  rival  suitors 
for  Marie's  hand;  yet  strangely  enough,  the  new- 
comer was  welcomed  by  the  young  couple,  and  took 
up  his  abode  with  them.  Matters  prospered  with 
all  three,  and  soon  Jules  was  to  be  appointed  tank- 
tender  on  the  road.  That  year  came  the  great  rain- 
storm, w^hen  so  many  families  in  Western  Kansas 
and  Texas  were  drowned.  Hundreds  of  people  were 
living  in  dug-outs,  rude  excavations  in  the  banks  of 
streams,  with  the  roof  on  a  level  with  the  bank 
above,  but  the  room  itself  entirely  below  high-water 
mark — a  style  of  dwelling  w^hich,  as  no  great  rise  had 
occurred  in  years,  had  become  quite  popular  among 
new-comers. 

On  the  night  of  the  great  flood  people  went  to  bed 
as  usual.  The  streams  had  risen  but  little.  At  mid- 
night the  rain  fell  heavily ;  the  firm  surface  of  the 
plains  shed  the  w^aters  like  a  roof;  streams  rose  ten 
feet  in  an  hour,  and  the  foaming  currents,  roaring  like 
cataracts,  came  down  with  the  force  of  mighty  tidal 
waves.  Many  dwellers  in  the  dug-outs  sprang  from 
their  beds  into  water,  to  find  egress  by  the  doors  im- 
possible, and  were  fortunate  if  they  succeeded  in  es- 


322  BUFFALO   LAND. 

caping  through  the  chimneys  or  roofs.  Whole  families 
were  drowned.  Fort  Hays,  at  the  fork  of  Big  Creek, 
and  supposed  to  be  above  high-water,  was  inundated, 
six  or  eight  soldiers  being  swept  away,  while  the  re- 
mainder were  obliged  to  seek  safety  on  the  roofs  of 
the  stone  barracks.  Large  numbers  of  mules, 
picketed  on  the  adjacent  bottoms,  were  drowned. 
Their  picket-pins  fast  in  the  earth,  the  animals  were 
swept  from  their  feet  by  the  rising  waters,  and  towed 
under  by  the  firmly-held  lariats.  Emigrants  en- 
camped on  the  bottom  heard  the  roar  of  the  flood ; 
with  no  time  to  harness,  they  seized  the  tongues  of 
their  wagons  themselves,  but  the  rising  tide  gained 
on  them  too  rapidly,  and  they  were  glad  to  save  life 
at  the  expense  of  oxen  and  goods.  The  horrors  of 
that  night  are  indescribable,  and,  to  crown  all,  they 
took  place  amid  a  darkness  that  was  total.  Above, 
was  the  roar  of  waters  descending;  below,  the 
answering  roar  of  the  floods,  as  they  rolled  madly 
onward,  carrying  in  their  strong  arms  the  wreck  of 
farms,  and  corpses  by  the  score. 

On  that  night  Jules,  the  husband,  perished. 
Honest  Rombeaux  and  Marie,  however,  were  rescued 
from  the  roof  of  their  dwelling  at  daylight;  and 
afterward,  when  the  flood  had  subsided,  the  body  of 
Jules  was  taken  from  the  wash  in  the  fire-place.  And 
now  came  suspicion,  and  pointed  over  the  shoulders 
of  the  throng  gathered  around  ;  for  there  was  an  ugly 
wound  half  hidden  in  the  dead  husband's  hair,  and 
his  fingers  were  bruised.  Some  men  did  not  hesitate 
to  say  boldly  that  when  Rombeaux  escaped  through 
the  chimney,  Jules  stayed  behind  to  assist  his  wife 


A  FIELD-DAY   FOR   THE   PROFESSOR.  323 

out,  and  that  when  he  tried  to  follow,  he  was  struck 
on  the  head  by  his  quondam  rival,  and,  still  clinging 
to  the  chimney's  edge,  his  fingers  were  pounded  until 
their  hold  was  loosed,  and  the  victim  sucked  under 
the  roof,  against  which  the  waters  were  already  beat- 
ing. The  man  and  woman,  however,  claimed  that  it 
was  the  whirl  of  the  waters  against  pegs  and  logs 
which  had  disfigured  the  corpse.  Three  weeks  after- 
ward thev  were  married. 

"  And  now,  gentlemen,"  said  our  foreman,  rising 
from  his  barrel,  when  the  evidence  was  all  in,  "the 
question  for  the  jury  to  decide  is,  Was  it  the  water 
that  did  it?" 

A  doubt  existing  in  the  case,  w^e  gave  the  prisoner 
its  benefit;  but  there  was  murder  in  the  air,  and 
Rombeaux  knew  it.  Before  morning  he  had  de- 
parted— Marie  said  for  La  Belle  France,  but,  as  the 
citizens  generally  believed,  really  for  Texas. 

The  next  twenty-four  hours  constituted  a  regular 
field-day  for  the  Professor,  being  distinguished  by 
an  event  which,  from  a  scientific  stand-point,  was 
among  the  most  important  of  our  entire  expedition. 
This  was  the  discovery  of  a  large  fossil  saurian, 
which  we  came  upon  while  exploring  quite  in  sight 
of  Sheridan,  and  not  more  than  half  a  mile  from  its 
eastern  outskirts. 

Descending  the  side  of  a  deep,  desolate  rift  in  the 
earth,  we  found  ourselves  among  unmistakable  traces 
of  violent  volcanic  action.  The.  ground  was  strewn 
with  black  sand,  and  with  yellow  pebble-like  masses, 
apparently  impure  sulphur.  There  were  numerous 
round  cones   also,    looking  like  diminutive   craters, 


324  BUFFALO   LAND. 

with  edges  and  surface  composed  of  bubble-like  lava, 
tlie  material  having  evidently  hardened  while  still 
distended  by  the  struggling  gases.  The  appearance, 
to  use  a  homely  comparison,  was  somewhat  that  of 
several  low  pots,  over  the  edges  of  which  boiling 
molasses  had  poured,  and  then  burned  by  the  heat  of 
the  fire.  Some  scattered  objects,  which  at  first  we 
took  for  stuQips  of  huge  trees,  upon  examination  we 
found  to  be  pillars  of  mud  and  rock,  upheavals,  ap- 
parently, from  volcanic  action,  and  not  the  work  of 
the  floods,  which,  in  those  primeval  times,  we  knew, 
must  have  poured  down  the  valley.  They  would 
have  answered,  without  much  difficulty,  for  druidical 
altars,  had  we  only  been  in  the  land  once  inhabited 
by  those  long-bearded,  blood-thirsty  priests  of  old. 

Two  or  three  poisoned  cayotes  and  a  dead  raven 
were  lying  near  some  bleached  buff^alo  skulls,  on 
which,  as  we  presently  discovered,  daubs  of  lard 
mixed  with  strychnine  had  been  placed,  and  licked 
off  by  the  victims  ;  and  straightway,  as  genius  of 
the  scene,  an  unshaven,  woolen-shirted  little  man  ap- 
peared in  view,  busily  engaged  in  skinning  a  wolf. 
We  saluted  him,  and  the  response  in  French-English 
told  us  his  nationality  at  once.  We  found  his  name 
to  be  Louis,  and  his  proper  occupation  that  of  watch- 
maker. But  as  the  pinchbeck  time-pieces  of  the 
frontier  did  not  furnish  enough  repairing  to  take  up 
his  entire  time,  he  had  many  spare  hours,  and  these 
he  devoted  to  securing  pelts.  As  buffalo  were  not 
now  in  the  vicinity,  he  larded  their  bones,  with  the 
success  of  which  we  were  eye-witnesses. 

Louis  was  a  wiry  little  Gaul,  very  positive  in  his 


AN   IMPORTANT   DISCOVERY.  325 

ideas  about  every  thing.  An  animated  conversation 
sprang  up  at  once  between  him  and  the  Professor, 
and  it  soon  became  amusingly  evident  that  his  geo- 
logical ideas  did  not  entirely  accord  with  those  of  the 
Philosopher.  A  sudden  turn  in  the  colloquy  de- 
veloped a  fact  of  keen  interest  to  even  the  most  un- 
scientific member  of  our  party. 

Pointing  to  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  Louis  told 
us  that  there  lay  the  bones  of  an  immense  snake,  all 
turned  to  stone.  This  sudden  voice  from  the  past 
ages  sounded  in  the  Professor^s  ears  like  the  blare  of 
a  trumpet  to  a  warrior.  He  hurried  us  forward  in  the 
direction  indicated,  and,  locking  arms  with  the  bloody- 
shirted  little  Frenchman,  strode  pn  in  advance.  I 
wish  his  class  could  have  seen  him  thus  traversing 
the  desolate  bed  where  that  old  sunken  volcano  went 
to  sleep.  We  were  glad  that  the  latter  was  still 
asleep,  and  had  never  acquired  the  habit  of  snorting 
into  wakefulness,  and  pelting  explorers  with  hot 
rocks. 

What  mysteries,  I  have  often  thought,  might  we 
not  discover,  on  looking  down  the  throat  of  a  healthy 
volcano,  if  some  wise  alchemist  could  only  brew  a 
dose  sufficiently  powerful  to  stop  the  fiery  fellow's 
foaming  at  the  mouth !  Or,  better  still,  if  it  could 
reach  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  keep  the  whole 
system  quiet,  while  we,  puny  mortals,  like  trichina 
mites,  swarmed  down  the  interior,  and  bored  scien- 
tifically back  to  the  crust  again.  Earth's  veins  run 
golden  blood,  and  we  might  be  gorged  with  that,  per- 
haps, ere  making  exit  into  the  sunshine  again. 

A  shout  from  the  further  edge  of  the  ravine  cut 


326  BUFFALO   LAND. 

short  our  speculations,  and  called  our  attention  to  the 
Professor.  He  stood  waving  his  slouched  hat  for  an 
instant,  and  then  bent  close  over  the  ground,  in 
earnest  scrutiny. 

A  few  moments  later,  and  we  all  stood  beside  the 
huge  fossil.  It  lay  exposed,  upon  a  bed  of  slate,  look- 
ing very  much  like  a  seventy-foot  serpent,  carved  in 
stone.  Part  of  the  remains  had  been  taken  up  to  the 
town,  and  spread  over  the  bench,  in  the  shop  of 
Louis.  From  what  was  left,  the  jaws  appeared  to 
have  been  originally  over  six  feet  long,  the  sharp 
hooked  and  cone-shaped  teeth  being  still  very  per- 
fect. A  few  broad  fragments  of  ribs  showed  that,  in 
circumference,  the  animal's  body  had  been  about  the 
size  of  a  puncheon.  We  felt  confident  that  the  speci- 
men was  a  very  rare  one,  as  Muggs  had  never  seen 
any  thing  like  it,  even  in  England.  It  now  rests  in 
the  museum  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 

"This  fossil,  gentlemen,"  said  the  Professor,  "is 
that  of  a  Mosasaurus,  a  huge  reptile  which  existed  in 
the  cretaceous  sea.  This  appears  to  be  one  of  the 
largest  members  of  the  family  yet  discovered,  its 
length,  as  you  will  perceive,  being  over  fifty  feet. 
The  species  to  which  it  belonged  swarmed  in  im- 
mense numbers,  but  were  surrounded  by  monsters 
even  more  remarkable  than  they.  The  deep  which 
they  inhabited  must  have  been  constantly  lashed  and 
torn  with  their  fierce  conflicts;  for  it  was  an  age  of 
war,  and  the  powers  of  offense  and  defense,  which  the 
monsters  of  that  period  possessed,  were  terrible. 
Winged  reptiles  filled  the  air,  in  appearance  more 
hideous  than  any  creation  of  the  imagination.   Follow- 


REMINISCENCES   OF    ALLIGATOR   HUNTING.      327 

ing  close  upon  the  Reptilian  came  the  Mammalian 
age,  and  I  hold  that  with  the  largest  of  the  mammals 
came  man,  rude  in  tastes  and  uncouth  in  form,  but 
even  then  ruling  as  king  of  the  animal  creation. 
Wielded  by  a  strength  equal  to  that  of  a  gorilla,  his 
club  would  dash  in  the  skull  of  any  beast  which  dare 
dispute  dominion  with  him." 

The  text  thus  suggested  him,  the  Professor  then 
diverged  into  an  argument  on  his  pet  theory  of  man's 
early  existence. 

A  trivial  circumstance  connected  with  our  dis- 
covery arrested  my  attention,  and,  from  a  sports- 
man's stand-point,  suggested  a  little  theory  of  m}^ 
own.  The  head  of  the  saurian  rested  on  the  basin's 
edge,  its  jaws  touching,  with  their  stony  tips,  the 
prairie,  while  down  into  the  valley  beloAV  stretched 
the  body  and  tail.  This  little  fact  dove-tailed  itself 
into  some  incidents  of  the  past,  and  gave  rise  to  quite 
a  train  of  speculation. 

Some  years  ago  I  hunted  alligators  in  Mississippi. 
Sitting  on  the  bank  of  a  sluggish  bayou,  I  would 
watch  the  surface  of  the  water,  close  under  which  were 
visible  the  noses  of  countless  buffalo  fish,  floating  as 
one  sees  minnows  do  in  glass  jars.  Under  the  hot 
sun  all  nature  seemed  asleep.  Soon,  however,  a  black 
knot,  an  ugly  dark  wart,  not  larger  than  one's  twc 
fists,  would  make  its  appearance,  floating,  like  some 
charred  fragment,  slowly  along. 

To  a  stranger,  the  only  suspicious  circumstance 

would  have  been,  that  where  there  was  no  current 

whatever,  it  still  continued  its  motion,  the  same  as 

before.     The  experienced  eye  recognized  this  object 
18 


328  BUFFALO   LAND. 

as  the  nose  of  an  alligator,  behind  which,  and  just  at 
the  surface,  as  it  got  opposite,  the  ugly  eyes  would  be- 
come visible,  looking  out  for  hogs  or  dogs,  as  they 
came  to  drink  under  the  bank. 

I  never  had  the  patience  to  wait  for  the  finale  of 
the  scene ;  but  had  I  done  so,  I  should  have  beheld 
the  knot  float  closer  in,  and,  just  after  passing  the 
victim,  a  tail  would  have  come  out  of  the  water,  and, 
with  a  curving  blow  forward,  knocked  the  prize  out 
from  shore,  and  in  front  of  the  devourer's  jaws.  It  was 
my  good  fortune,  frequently,  to  send  a  Ballard  rifle-ball 
into  the  pirate's  eyes.  In  such  cases  there  was  usu- 
ally a  tremendous  commotion  in  the  water,  accom- 
panied by  a  strong  smell  of  musk,  and  the  wounded 
reptile  would  then  make  straight  for  shore,  and  run 
his  head  upon  it.  Under  such  circumstances,  the 
creature  always  sought  at  least  that  much  of  dry 
land  to  die  upon,  seeming  as  anxious  as  man  that 
its  lamp  of  life  should  not  be  extinguished  under 
water. 

This  monster  whose  remains  we  were  now  ex- 
huming was  allied  to  the  alligator,  as  one  of  the 
great  family  of  lizards,  and  had  died  in  the  same 
manner — his  head  on  the  shores  of  the  basin,  his  tail 
in  its  depths.  Perhaps  in  the  convulsion  of  JSTature 
which  opened  a  path  for  the  waters  to  the  ocean,  and 
drained  this  inland  sea,  the  fissure  in  which  we  stood 
had  gaped,  and  exhaled  poisonous  gases  through  the 
whirlpool  its  suction  created.  The  saurian  monster 
of  that  strange  age  felt  the  hungry  vortex  swallowing 
him,  which  meanwhile  enveloped  him  in  deadly 
secretions,   killing  before   devouring.     With   a  last 


BONES  CLOTHED  IN  STONE.         329 

lurch  through  the  cauldron's  ebbing  tide,  the  lizard 
threw  himself  upon  its  edge,  and  died. 

Of  the  countless  millions  of  saurians  then  existing, 
capricious  IN'ature  had  seized  upon  this  one,  to  trans- 
mute it  into  an  imperishable  monument  of  that  extinct 
race.  In  those  ages  of  roaring  waters  and  hissing 
fires,  she  had  clothed  the  bones  in  stone,  that  they 
might  withstand  the  gnawing  tooth  of  time,  and  thus 
handed  them  down  to  the  wondering  eyes  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century.  Many  of  the  pieces,  it  should 
be  said,  were  cracked  and  scarred,  evidently  by  the 
action  of  fierce  heat. 

Constantly  the  earth  is  giving  up  these  marvelous 
creations  of  the  past,  in  comparison  with  which  the 
animals  of  the  present  are  tame  enough.  While  we 
doubt  a  modern  sea-serpent  as  impossible,  we  dig  up 
fossilized  marine  monsters,  which  could  easily  have 
swallowed  the  biggest  snake  that  credible  sea-captain 
ever  ran  foul  of. 


DUG-OUT. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

PROV  SHEEIDAN  TO  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS — THE  COLORADO  PORTION  OP  THE  PLAINR 
— TSK  GIANT  PINES — ATTEMPT  TO  PHOTOGRAPH  A  BUFFALO— THINGS  GET  MIXKD 
— THE  LEVIATHAN  AT  HOME — A  CHAT  WITH  PROFESSOR  COPE — TWENTY-SIX 
INCH  OYSTERS — REPTILES  AND  FISHES  OF  THE  CRETACEOUS  SEA. 

AT  Sheridan,  we  were  very  near  the  Colorado 
portion  of  the  plain,  which  stretched  on  for 
some  hundreds  of  miles  further  westward,  its  further 
line  lapping  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Into 
this  territory  we  passed,  and  spent  a  considerable 
period  of  time  in  its  examination,  but  while  our  ex- 
perience was  to  us  full  of  interest,  any  thing  more 
extended  than  a  brief  summary  would  occupy  too 
much  space  here. 

For  the  first  one  hundred  miles,  the  soil  deterio- 
rated in  quality,  and  the  sage-bush  made  its  appear- 
ance, as  did  also  the  "Adam's  needle"  or  "Spanish 
bayonet."  The  latter  makes  an  excellent  substitute 
for  soup,  but  a  wretched  cushion  to  alight  upon  when 
thrown  from  your  horse.  (I  make  the  latter  state- 
ment on  the  authority  of  Doctor  Pythagoras.)  Brack- 
ish water  was  found  at  intervals,  and  white  saline 
crystallizations  were  seen  along  some  of  the  streams. 
Although  the  soil  was  more  sandy  than  further  east, 
the  buffalo  grass   was  abundant  and  nutritious,  so 

(330) 


pike's  peak  in  the  distance.  331 

that  at  no  time  had  we  any  difficulty  in  finding 
grazing  for  our  cattle,  and  the  antelope  that  we  killed 
were  invariably  in  good  condition.  This  belt  of  east- 
ern Colorado  proved  particularly  rich  in  fossil 
wealth,  to  the  description  of  which  we  shall  devote 
most  of  this  chapter,  and  the  whole  of  that  following. 
In  the  vicinity  of  the  Big  Sandy,  we  found  numerous 
lakes  of  clear  water,  surrounded  by  rich  pasturage. 

About  one  hundred  miles  west  of  the  Kansas  line, 
the  country  began  gradually  improving,  and  continued 
to  do  so  until  we  reached  the  mountains.  The  Bijou  ba- 
sin, through  which  we  passed,  afforded  excellent  range, 
and  contained  good  streams.  The  country  swarmed 
with  antelopes,  and  once  we  saw  a  herd  running  rap- 
idly, which  was  four  minutes  in  crossing  the  road. 

We  had  fine  views  of  Pike's  Peak,  at  a  distance  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  the  atmosphere  there 
being  remarkably  pure  and  transparent.  Emigrants 
have  often  been  deceived  when,  as  their  wagons 
crawled  over  the  crest  which  we  named  First  View, 
the  fine  old  Peak  burst  upon  their  sight,  and  in  their 
enthusiasm  resolved  to  get  an  early  start  next  day 
and  reach  it  before  another  night-fall.  Our  guide  told 
us  that  when  he  first  crossed  the  plains,  by  the  Platte 
route,  his  party  camped  for  the  night  near  Monument 
Rock.  After  supper,  two  of  the  men  and  a  woman 
set  out  to  cut  their  names  in  the  stone,  supposing  it 
to  be  only  a  mile  or  so  distant,  but  when  an  hour's 
traveling  brought  the  rock  apparently  no  nearer,  they 
became  discouraged  and  returned.  JSText  day  Mon- 
ument Rock  was  found  to  be  twelve  miles  distant 
from  their  camping-place. 


332  BUFFALO   LAND. 

When  within  a  day's  journey  of  the  mountains,  we 
came  in  sight  of  several  tall  objects  standing  out  in 
bold  relief  upon  the  plain.  These  proved  to  be  giant 
pines,  thrown  out,  like  sentinels,  from  the  forests  still 
far  beyond  and  invisible.  We  could  not  resist  the 
impulse  to  give  the  first  one  we  came  to  a  hearty  hug ; 
for,  after  so  many  weeks  upon  the  treeless  plain,  these 
suggestions  of  mighty  forests,  with  their  mingled 
sheen  and  shadow,  were  indeed  welcome.  The  mount- 
ains of  Colorado,  with  their  beautiful  parks  and  won- 
derful 3"oung  cities,  have  been  so  often  described  that 
our  notes  would  prove  a  useless  addition  to  a  some- 
w^hat  worn  history,  and  hence  we  forbear  taxing  the 
reader's  patience  by  transcribing  them  here. 

After  studying  the  principles  of  mining  and  irriga- 
tion, we  spent  in  the  neighborhood  of  one  calendar 
month  in  getting  views  of  sunrise  and  sunset,  from 
all  the  known  peaks,  to  the  end  that  no  future  tourist 
might  feel  called  upon  to  extend  to  us  his  kind  com- 
miseration for  having  lost  some  particular  outlook, 
where  he  had  been,  and  which  he  considered  the 
best  of  all.  To  accomplish  this  thoroughly,  we  hewed 
paths  up  hitherto  inaccessible  mountains,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  month  made  a  close  calculation,  and  de- 
cided that  we  were  a  match  for  all  such  tourists  for 
at  least  five  years  to  come.  We  then  retraced  our 
steps  to  Buffalo  Land,  again  entering  the  fossil  belt 
near  Fort  Wallace. 

One  incident  of  our  trip  into  Colorado  deserves 
especial  mention  from  having  been  the  first,  as  it  will 
probably  prove  the  last,  attempt  to  photograph  the 
buifalo  in  his  native  wildness,  at  close  quarters.    The 


IMPERILLED   ENTOMOLOGISTS.  333 

idea  was  suggested  in  a  letter  which  the  Professor 
received  from  his  Eastern  friends,  who  thought  that 
actual  photographs  of  the  animals  inhabiting  the 
plains  would  be  a  valuable  addition  to  the  ordinary 
facilities  for  the  study  of  natural  history.  As  good 
fortune  would  have  it,  there  happened  to  be  at  Sheri- 
dan an  artist,  just  arrived  from  Hays,  then  prospecting 
for  a  location,  and  him  we  promptly  engaged.  The  sec- 
ond day  out,  two  old  buif aloes,  near  our  road,  were 
selected  as  good  subjects  for  first  views.  One  of  these 
was  soon  killed,  the  other  making  his  escape  up  a  ra- 
vine near  by.  Although  we  had  good  reason  to  sus- 
pect that  the  latter  had  been  wounded,  we  did  not 
pursue  him,  since  it  was  now  near  noon,  and  our  art- 
ist, moreover,  being  of  a  somewhat  timid  disposition, 
had  expressly  stipulated  that  we  should  keep  near 
him,  not  so  much,  he  repeatedly  assured  us,  as  a  body- 
guard for  himself,  as  for  the  protection  of  his  new 
camera  and  outfit.  / 

The  dead  bull  we  propped  into  position  with  our 
guns  and  other  supports,  and  while  the  artist  care- 
fully adjusted  his  instrument,  Shamus  began  to  make 
preparations  for  lunch,  and  Mr.  Colon  and  Semi  set 
out  for  a  few  minutes'  pastime  in  catching  bugs. 
They  had  been  gone  a  full  half  hour,  and  we  were 
just  remarking  their  prolonged  absence  somewhat 
impatiently,  when  a  k>ud  cry  from  the  nearer  bank 
of  the  ravine  fell  on  our  ears,  and  looking  around  we 
beheld  Colon  senior,  and  ditto  junior,  making  to- 
ward us  at  a  tremendous  rate  of  speed. 

"  Bufiklo ! "  was  all  that  we  could  catch  of  Semi's  wild 
shouts,  as  he  led   the  chase  directly   toward  us,  his 


334  BUFFALO    LAND. 

father  having  lost  several  seconds  in  securing  one 
of  his  specimen-cases,  and  on  the  instant  the  old 
bull  that  we  had  wounded  an  hour  before  hove  in 
sight,  in  full  charge  upon  the  flying  entomologists. 
As  buffalo  charges  are  short  ones,  he  would  .have 
stopped,  no  doubt,  in  a  moment  or  so,  had  not  Muggs 
and  I,  the  only  members  of  our  party  who  happened 
to  have  their  guns  at  hand,  opened  fire  on  him,  and 
planted  another  bullet  between  his  ribs.  The  effect 
was  to  infuriate  the  old  fellow  tenfold,  and  down  he 
came  careering  toward  us,  with  what  I  then  thought 
the  most  vicious  expression  of  countenance  I  had 
ever  seen  on  a  buffalo's  physiognomy. 

The  attack  was  so  sudden,  and  the  surprise  so  com- 
plete, that  we  were  most  ingloriously  stampeded,  and 
fell  back  in  hot  haste  upon  our  reserves,  the  guide 
and  teamsters,  who,  we  knew,  would  be  provided  with 
weapons  and  in  good  shape  to  cover  our  retreat.  The 
sitting  for  which  we  had  made  such  elaborate  prepa- 
rations was  abruptly  terminated  in  the  manner  shown 
in  the  accompanying  engraving. 

Fortunately  for  the  artist,  the  blow  originally  in- 
tended for  him  was  delivered  upon  the  legs  of  the 
instrument.  His  assailant  being  at  length  dispatched, 
the  poor  fellow  proceeded  to  pick  out  of  the  ruins  of 
his  property  what  remained  that  might  again  be  use- 
ful. He  stated  that  his  stock,  as  well  as  the  subject 
of  buffalo  photographing,  was  "rather  mixed,"  and 
that,  if  we  w#uld  pay  him  for  the  damage  done,  he 
would  return.  !N'ext  morning  he  left  us,  and  thus  it 
was  that  science  lost  the  projected  series  of  valuable 
photographic  views. 


THE  LEVIATHAN  AND  HIS  PHOTOTYPES.        337 

Exploration  gives  us  a  past  history  of  the  plains 
\vhich  is  interesting  in  the  extreme.  Our  party  spent 
some  weeks  in  exploring  for  fossils  beyond  Sheridan, 
and  were  richly  rewarded.  In  the  great  ocean  which 
once  covered  the  land,  the  wonderful  reptiles  of  the 
cretaceous  age  swarmed  in  prodigious  numbers,  and 
their  fierce  struggles  upon  and  under  its  surface  made 
*'  the  deep  to  boil  like  a  pot."  The  mysterious  Le- 
viathan, described  in  the  forty-first  chapter  of  Job,  had 
its  prototype  in  more  than  one  of  the  monsters  of 
that  period : 

"*'Who  can  open  the  doors  of  his  face?  his  teeth 
are  terrible  round  about. 

*'  Out  of  his  mouth  go  burning  lamps,  and  sparks 
of  fire  leap  out. 

''  Out  of  his  nostrils  goeth  smoke,  as  out  of  a  seeth- 
ing pot  or  caldron. 

"  His  breath  kindleth  coals,  and  a  flame  goeth  out 
of  his  mouth. 

**The  flakes  of  his  flesh  are  joined  together:  they 
are  firm  in  themselves ;  they  can  not  be  moved. 

*'  He  esteemeth  iron  as  straw,  and  brass  as  rotten 
wood. 

"  He  maketh  a  path  to  shine  after  him ;  one  would 
think  the  deep  to  be  hoary." 

The  fossil  remains  of  these  reptiles  are  numerous, 
constituting  a  rich  mine  of  scientific  wealth,  which 
has  been  but  very  lightly  worked.  Enough  fossils 
can  be  obtained  by  future  exploration  to  fill  to  over- 
flowing all  the  museums  of  the  land. 

We  have  <  no  means  of  computing  how  long  the 
cretaceous  sea  existed,  but  we  know  that  it  passed 


338  BUFFALO   LAND. 

away  and  was  replaced  by  large  fresh-water  lakes, 
those  of  the  plains  being  bounded  on  the  west  by  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Then  succeeded  an  age  of  which 
we  can  catch  but  occasional  glimpses,  and  our  long- 
ing becomes  intense  that  we  could  know  more.  We 
see  a  land  fertile  as  the  garden  of  Eden,  surrounding 
beautiful  lakes.  The  climate  is  delightful,  and  earth, 
air,  and  water,  are  full  of  life.  Grand  forests  and 
flower-covered  prairies  nod  and  blossom  under  the 
kind  caresses  of  Nature.  Water  fowls  numberless 
plunge  under  and  skim  over  the  surface,  and  the 
songsters  of  the  air  warble  forth  their  hymns  of 
praise.  Over  the  pastures  and  through  the  forests 
roam  an  animal  multitude  of  which  we  can  have  but 
faint  conception,  but  among  the  number  we  recog- 
nize the  lion  with  his  royal  mane,  and  the  tiger  with 
his  spots ;  and  there  also  are  the  elephant,  the  mas- 
todon, the  rhinoceros,  the  wild  horse,  and  the  great 
elk. 

After  our  return,  the  eminent  naturalist.  Prof. 
Edward  D.  Cope,  A.  M.,  visited  the  plains,  and  spent 
some  time  in  careful  exploration  there.  As  he  had  pre- 
viously received  several  fossils  from  us  for  examina- 
tion, I  communicated  with  him  not  long  since,  asking 
a  record  of  his  trip.  This  he  very  kindly  consented 
to  furnish,  and,  did  space  permit,  I  would  gladly  pub- 
lish entire  the  matter  which  he  has  placed  at  my 
disposal.  No  apology  can  be  necessary,  however,  for 
yielding  to  the  temptation  of  devoting  two  or  three 
chapters  to  a  chat  by  Prof.  Cope  with  my  readers. 

The  manuscript,  as  it  lies  before  me,  is  entitled: 
*'0n  the  Geology  and  Vertebrate  Palaeontology  of 


A  CHAT  WITH  PEOF.  COPi).  339 

the  Cretaceous  Strata  of  Kansas."  Let  us  begin 
with  "  Part  I — A  General  Sketch  of  the  Ancient 
Life." 

That  vast  level  tract  of  our  territory  lying  between 
Missouri  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  represents  a  con- 
dition of  the  earth's  surface  which  has  preceded,  in 
most  instances,  the  mountainous  or  hilly  type  so  prev- 
alent elsewhere,  and  may  be  called,  in  so  far,  incom- 
pletely developed.  It  does  not  present  the  variety 
of  conditions,  either  of  surface  for  the  support  of  a 
ver}^  varied  life,  or  of  opportunities  for  access  to  its 
interior  treasures,  so  beneficial  to  a  high  civilization. 

It  is,  in  fact,  the  old  bed  of  seas  and  lakes,  which 
has  been  so  gradually  elevated  as  to  have  suffered 
little  disturbance.  Consistently  with  its  level  surface, 
its  soils  have  not  been  carried  away  by  rain  and 
flood,  but  rather  cover  it  with  a  deep  and  wide- 
spread mantle.  This  is  the  great  source  of  its  wealth 
in  Nature's  creations  of  vegetable  and  animal  life, 
and  from  it  will  be  drawn  the  wealth  of  its  future  in- 
habitants. On  this  account  its  products  have  a 
character  of  uniformity;  but  viewed  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  political  philosopher,  so  long  as  peace 
and  steam  bind  the  natural  sections  of  our  country 
together,  so  long  will  the  plains  be  an  important  ele- 
ment in  a  varied  economv  of  continental  extent. 

But  they  are  not  entirely  uninterrupted.  The  nat- 
ural drainage  has  worn  channels,  and  the  streams 
flow  below  the  general  level.  The  ancient  sea  and 
lake  deposits  have  neither  been  pressed  into  very 
hard  rock  beneath  piles  of  later  sediment,  nor  have 


340  BUFFALO   LAND. 

they  been  roasted  and  crystallized  by  internal  heat. 
Although  limestone  rock,  they  easily  yield  to  the  ac- 
tion of  water,  and  so  the  side  drainage  into  the 
creeks  and  rivers  has  removed  their  high  banks  to 
from  many  rods  to  many  miles  from  their  original 
positions.  In  many  cases  these  banks  or  bluffs  have 
retained  their  original  steepness,  and  have  increased 
in  elevation  as  the  breaking-down  of  the  rock  en- 
croached on  higher  land.  In  other  cases  the  raip- 
channels  have  cut  in  without  removing  the  interven- 
ing rocks  at  once,  and  formed  deep  gorges  or  canyons, 
which  sometimes  extend  to  great  distances.  They 
frequently  communicate  in  every  direction,  forming 
curious  labyrinths,  and  when  the  intervening  masses 
are  cut  away  at  various  levels,  or  left  standing  like 
monuments,  we  have  the  characteristic  peculiarities 
of  "  bad  lands  "  or  mauvaises  terres. 

In  portions  of  Kansas  tracts  of  this  kind  are 
scattered  over  the  country  along  the  margins  of  the 
river  and  creek  valleys  and  ravines.  The  upper 
stratum  of  the  rock  is  a  yellow  chalk;  the  lower, 
bluish,  and  the  brilliancy  of  the  color  increases  the 
picturesque  effect.  From  elevated  points  the  plains 
appear  to  be  dotted  with  ruined  villages  and  towns, 
whose  avenues  are  lined  with  painted  walls  of  forti- 
fications, churches,  and  towers,  while  side  alleys  pass 
beneath  natural  bridges  or  expand  into  small  pockets 
and  caverns,  smoothed  by  the  action  of  the  wind, 
carrying  hard  mineral  particles. 

But  this  is  the  least  interesting  of  the  peculiarities 
presented  by  these  rocks.  On  the  level  surfaces,  de- 
nuded of  soil,  lie  huge  oyster-shells,  some  opened  and 


A  CHAT  WITH  PKOF.  COPE — CONTINUED.    341 

others  with  both  valves  together,  like  remnants  of  a 
half-finished  meal  of  some  titanic  race,  who  had  been 
frightened  from  the  board,  never  to  return.  These 
shells  are  not  thickened  like  most  of  those  of  past 
periods,  but  contained  an  animal  which  would  have 
served  as  a  meal  for  a  large  party  of  men.  One  of 
them  measured  twenty-six  inches  across. 

If  the  explorer  searches  the  bottoms  of  the  rain- 
washes  and  ravines,  he  will  doubtless  come  upon  the 
fragment  of  a  tooth  or  jaw,  and  will  generally  find 
a  line  of  such  pieces  leading  to  an  elevated  position 
on  the  bank  or  bluff,  where  lies  the  skeleton  of  some 
monster  of  the  ancient  sea.  He  may  find  the  verte- 
bral column  running  far  into  the  limestone  that  locks 
him  in  his  last  prison;  or  a  paddle  extended  on  the 
slope,  as  though  entreating  aid ;  or  a  pair  of  jaws 
lined  with  horrid  teeth  which  grin  despair  on  ene- 
mies they  are  helpless  to  resist.  Or  he  may  find  a 
conic  mound,  on  whose  apex  glisten  in  the  sun  the 
bleached  bones  of  one  whose  last  office  has  been  to 
preserve  from  destruction  the  friendly  soil  on  which 
he  reposed.  Sometimes  a  pile  of  huge  remains  will 
be  discovered,  which  the  dissolution  of  the  rock  has 
deposited  on  the  lower  level,  the  force  of  rain  and 
wash  having  been  insufficent  to  carry  them  away. 

But  the  reader  inquires.  What  the  nature  of  these 
creatures  thus  left  stranded  a  thousand  miles  from 
either  ocean?  How  came  they  in  the  limestones  of 
Kansas,  and  were  they  denizens  of  land  or  sea?  It 
may  be  replied  that  our  knowledge  of  this  chapter  of 
ancient  history  is  only  about  five  years  old,  and  has 
been  brought  to  light  by  geological  explorations  set 


342  BUFFALO   LAND. 

on  foot  by  Dr.  Turner,  Prof.  Mudge,  Prof  Marsh,  W. 
E.  Webb,  and  the  writer.  Careful  examinations  of 
the  remains  discovered  show  that  they  are  all  to  be 
referred  to  the  reptiles  and  fishes.  We  find  that  they 
lived  in  the  period  called  Cretaceous,  at  the  time 
w^hen  the  chalk  of  England  and  the  green  sand  marl 
of  Xew  Jersey  were  being  deposited,  and  when  many 
other  huge  reptiles  and  fishes  peopled  both  sea  and 
land  in  those  quarters  of  the  globe.  The  twenty-six 
species  of  reptiles  found  in  Kansas,  up  to  the  present 
time,  varied  from  ten  to  eighty  feet  in  length,  and 
represented  six  orders,  the  same  that  occur  in  the 
other*  regions  mentioned.  Two  only  of  the  number 
were  terrestrial  in  their  habits,  and  three  were  flyers  ; 
the  remainder  were  inhabitants  of  the  salt  ocean. 
When  they  swam  over  what  are  now  the  plains,  the 
coast-line  extended  from  Arkansas  to  near  Fort 
Riley,  on  the  Kansas  River,  and,  passing  a  little  east- 
ward, traversed  Minnesota  to  the  British  Possessions, 
near  the  head  of  Lake  Superior.  The  extent  of  sea 
to  the  w^estward  was  vast,  and  geology  has  not  yet 
laid  down  its  boundary ;  it  was  probably  a  shore  now 
submerged  beneath  the  waters  of  the  North  Pacific 
Ocean. 

Far  out  on  its  expanse  might  have  been  seen  in 
those  ancient  days,  a  huge  snake-like  form  which  rose 
above  the  surface  and  stood  erect,  wdth  tapering 
throat  and  arrow-shaped  "  head  ;  or  swayed  about, 
describing  a  circle  of  twenty  feet  radius  above  the 
water.  Then  it  would  dive  into  the  depths,  and  naught 
would  be  visible  but  the  foam  caused  by  the  disap- 
pearing mass  of  life.     Should  several  have  appeared 


A  CHAT  WITH  PROF.  COPE — CONTINUED.    343 

together,  we  can  easily  imagine  tall  twining  forms, 
rising  to  the  height  of  the  masts  of  a  fishing  fleet,  or 
like  snakes  twisting  and  knotting  themselves  to- 
gether. This  extraordinary  neck,  for  such  it  was, 
rose  from  a  body  of  elephantine  proportions ;  and  a 
tail  of  the  serpent  pattern  balanced  it  behind.  The 
limbs  were  probably  two  pairs  of  paddles,  like  those 
of  Flesiosaurus,  from  which  this  diver  chiefly  dif- 
fered in  the  arrangement  of  the  bones  of  the  breast. 
In  the  best  known  species,  twenty-two  feet  represent 
the  neck,  in  a  total  length  of  fifty  feet. 

This  is  the  Masmosaurus  platyurus  (Cope),  a  car- 
nivorous sea  reptile,  no  doubt  adapted  Tor  deeper 
waters  than  many  of  the  others.  Like  the  snake- 
bird  of  Florida,  it  probably  often  swam  many  feet 
below  the  surface,  raising  the  head  to  the  distant  air 
for  a  breath,  then  withdrawing  it  and  exploring  the 
depths  forty  feet  below,  without  altering  the  position 
of  its  body.  From  the  localities  in  which  the  bones 
have  been  found  in  Kansas,  it  must  have  w^andered 
far  from  land,  and  that  many  kinds  of  fishes  formed 
its  food,  is  shown  by  the  teeth  and  scales  found  in  the 
position  of  its  stomach. 

A  second  species,  of  somewhat  similar  character 
and  habits,  differed  very  much  in  some  points  of 
structure.  The  neck  was  drawn  out  to  a  wonderful 
degree  of  attenuation,  while  the  tail  was  relatively 
very  stout,  more  so,  indeed,  than  in  the  ElasmosauriiSj 
as  though  to  balance  the  anterior  regions  while  occu- 
pied in  various  actions,  e.  g.^  while  capturing  its  food. 
This  was  a  powerful  swimmer,  its  paddles  measuring 
four  feet  in  length,  with  an  expanse,  therefore,  of  about 


344  BUFFALO  LAND. 

eleven  feet.  It  is  known  as  Folycotylus  latipinnis 
(Cope). 

The  two  species  just  described  formed  a  small 
representation,  in  our  great  interior  sea,  of  an  order 
which  swarmed  at  the  same  time,  or  near  it,  over  the 
gulfs  and  bays  of  old  Europe.  There  they  abounded 
twenty  to  one.  Perhaps  one  reason  for  this  was  the 
almost  entire  absence  of  the  real  rulers  of  the  waters 
of  Ancient  America,  viz :  the  Pythonomorjphs,  These 
sea-serpents,  for  such  they  were,  embrace  more  than 
half  the  species  found  in  the  limestone  rocks  in  Kan- 
sas, and  abound  in  those  of  Xew  Jersey  and  Alabama. 
Only  four  have  l^een  seen  as  yet  in  Europe. 

Researches  into  their  structure  have  shown  that 
they  were  of  wonderful  elongation  of  form,  especially 
of  tail ;  that  their  heads  were  large,  flat,  and  conic, 
with  eyes  directed  partly  u]d wards.;  that  they  were 
furnished  with  two  pairs  of  paddles  like  the  flippers 
of  a  whale,  but  with  short  or  no  portion  representing 
the  arm.  With  these  flippers  and  the  eel-like  strokes 
of  their  flattened  tail  they  swam — some  with  less, 
others  with  greater  speed.  They  were  furnished,  like 
snakes,  with  four  rows  of  formidable  teeth  on  the 
roof  of  the  mouth.  Though  these  were  not  designed 
for  mastication,  and  without  paws  for  grasping  could 
have  been  little  used  for  cutting,  as  weapons  for 
seizing  their  prey  they  were  very  formidable.  And 
here  we  have  to  consider  a  peculiarity  of  these  creat- 
ures in  which  they  are  unique  among  animals. 
Swallowing  their  prey  entire,  like  snakes,  they  were 
without  that  wonderful  expansibility  of  throat,  due 
in  the  latter  to  an  arrangement  of  levers  supporting 


A  CHAT  WITH  PROF.  COPE — CONTINUED.         345 

the  lower  jaw.  Instead  of  this  each  half  of  that  jaw 
was  articulated  or  jointed  at  a  point  nearly  midway 
between  the  ear  and  the  chin.  This  was  of  the  ball 
and  socket  type,  and  enabled  the  jaw  to  make  an 
angle  outward,  and  so  widen,  by  much,  the  space 
inclosed  between  it  an  its  fellow.  The  arrangement 
may  be  easily  imitated  by  directing  the  arms  for- 
ward, with  the  elbows  turned  outward  and  the 
hands  placed  near  together.  The  ends  of  these  bones 
were  in  the  Pythonomorphs  as  independent  as  in  the 
serpents,  being  only  bound  by  flexible  ligaments. 
By  turning  the  elbows  outward,  and  bending  them, 
the  space  between  the  arms  becomes  diamond-shaped, 
and  represents  exactly  the  expansion  seen  in  these 
reptiles,  to  permit  the  passage  of  a  large  fish  or  other 
body.  The  arms,  too,  will  represent  the  size  of  jaws 
attained  by  some  of  the  smaller  species^  The  out- 
ward movement  of  the  basal  half  of  the  jaw  necessa- 
rily twists  in  the  same  direction  the  column-like  bone 
to  which  it  is  suspended.  The  peculiar  shape  of  the 
joint  by  which  the  last  bone  is  attached  to  the  skull, 
depends  on  the  degree  of  twist  to  be  permitted,  and, 
therefore,  to  the  degree  of  expansion  of  which  the 
jaws  were  capable.  As  this  differs  much  in  the  dif- 
ferent species,  they  are  readily  distinguished  by 
the  column  or  '^ quadrate"  bone  when  found. 
There  are  some  curious  consequences  of  this  struct- 
ure, and  they  are  here  explained  as  an  instance 
of  the  mode  of  reconstruction  of  extinct  animals 
from  slight  materials.  The  habit  of  swallowing  large 
bodies  between  the  branches  of  the  under-jaw  ne- 
cessitates the  prolongation  forward  of  the  mouth 
19 


346  BUFFALO   land'. 

of  the  gullet;  hence  the  throat  in  the  Python- 
omorphs  must  have  been  loose  and  almost  as  baggy 
as  a  pelican's.  "Next,  the  same  habit  must  have 
compelled  the  forward  position  of  the  glottis  or 
opening  of  the  windpipe,  which  is  always  in  front 
of  the  gullet.  Hence  these  creatures  must  have  ut- 
tered no  other  sound  than  a  hiss,  as  do  animals  of 
the  present  day  which  have  a  similar  structure,  as 
for  instance,  the  snakes.  Thirdly,  the  tongue  must 
have  been  long  and  forked  and  for  this  reason :  its 
position  was  still  anterior  to  the  glottis,  so  that  there 
was  no  space  for  it  except  it  were  inclosed  in  a 
sheath  beneath  the  windpipe  when  at  rest,  or  thrown 
out  beyond  the  jaws  when  in  motion.  Such  is  the 
arrangement  in  the  nearest  living  forms,  and  it  is 
always,  in  these  cases,  cylindric  and  forked. 

The  flying  saurians  of  the  cretaceous  sea  of  Kan- 
sas, though  not  numerous  in  species,  were  of  remark- 
able size.  Though  their  remains  are  generally 
flattened  by  the  pressure  of  the  overlying  rocks, 
two  species  have  left  a  complete  record  of  their  form 
and  dimensions.  One  of  them  (Ornithochirus  Tarjayid) 
spread  eighteen  feet  between  the  tips  of  the  wings, 
while  the  0.  umbrosus  covered  nearly  twenty-five  feet 
with  his  expanse.  These  strange  creatures  flapped 
their  leathery  wings  over  the  waves,  and,  often 
plunging,  drew  many  a  fish  from  its  companions  of  the 
shoal;  or,  soaring  at  a  safe  distance,  viewed  the  sports 
and  combats  of  the  more  powerful  saurians  of  the  sea ; 
or,  trooping  to  the  shore  at  nightfall,  suspended 
themselves  to  the  cliifs  by  the  claw-bearing  fingers 
of  their  wing-limbs. 


THE  PRIMEVAL   MAN's   PASTORAL.  349 

In  connection  with  the  subject  of  the  old  lakes  and 
their  fertile  shores,  where  human  beings,  it  might 
reasonably  be  expected,  once  lived  so  comfortably, 
the  editor  of  this  volume  begs  to  lay  before  the 
reader  (in  a  sort  of  parenthesis,  for  which  Professor 
Cope  is  in  no  way  responsible)  an  effort  of  Sachem's. 
He  dedicated  it  to  Darwin,  and  was  pleased  to  call 
it,  notwithstanding  it  smells  more  of  the  fossil-bouQ 
caves  than  the  fields, 


My  grandfather  Jock  was  an  ape, 

His  grandfather  Twist  was  a  worm ; 
Each  age  has  developed  in  shape, 

And  ours  has  got  rid  of  the  squirm ; 
If  the  law  of  selection  will  work  in  our  case, 

We  '11  develop,  in  time,  to  a  wonderful  race. 

My  sweetheart  has  claws,  and  her  face 

Is  covered  with  bristles  and  hair; 
She  's  feline  in  nature  and  grace. 

She 's  apt  to  get  out  on  a  tear. 
She  's  cursed  with  a  passion  to  sing  after  night ; 

But  these  she'll  evolve,  and  develop  all  right. 

One  race  has  evolved  in  the  sea. 

And  partly  got  rid  of  their  scales  ; 
Though  cousin  by  faces  to  me. 

They  're  cousin  to  fishes  by  tails ; 
But  they  '11  ever  remain  simply  mer-men  and  women. 

For  selection  won't  work,  in  the  world  that  they  swim  in. 


350  BUFFALO   LAND. 

'T  IS  said  that  Gorilla  the  Great, 

Who  rules  as  the  chief  of  our  clan, 
Has  found  in  the  annals  of  fate. 

We  're  soon  to  evolve  into  man ; 
Furthermore,   that  our   children    will   doubt   whence   they   \ 
came, 

Till  a  fellow  named  Darwin  shall  put  them  to  shama 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

CONTINUED  BY  COPE — THE  GIANTS  OF  THE  SEAS — TAKING   OUT    FOSSILS  IN  A  GALH- 
INTERESTING  DISCOVERIES — THE  GEOLOGY  OP  THE  PLAINS. 

\ 

THE  giants  of  the  Python omorphs  of  Kansas 
have  been  called  Liodon  jproriger  (Cope)  and 
Liodon  dyspelor  (Cope).  The  first  must  have  been 
abundant,  and  its  length  could  not  have  been  far 
from  sixty  feet,  certainly  not  less.  Its  physiognomy 
was  rendered  peculiar  by  a  long  projecting  muzzle, 
reminding  one  of  that  of  the  blunt-nosed  sturgeon  of 
our  coast,  but  the  resemblance  was  destroyed  by  the 
correspondingly  massive  end  of  the  branches  of  the 
lower  jaw.  Though  clumsy  in  appearance,  such  an 
arrangement  must  have  been  effective  as  a  ram,  and 
dangerous  to  his  enemies  in  case  of  collision.  The 
writer  once  found  the  wreck  of  an  individual  of  this 
species  strewn  around  a  sunny  knoll  beside  a  bluff, 
and  his  conic  snout,  pointing  to  the  heavens,  formed 
a  fitting  monument,  as  at  once  his  favorite  weapon, 
and  the  mark  distinguishing  all  his  race. 

Very  different  was  the  Liodon  dyspelor,  a  still 
larger  animal  than  the  last,  with  a  formidable  arma- 
ture. It  was  indeed  the  longest  of  known  reptiles, 
and  probably  equal  to  the  great  finner  whale  of 
modern  oceans.      The  circumstances  attending  the 

(361) 


352  BUFFALO   LAND. 

discovery  of  one  of  these,  will  always  be  a  pleasant 
recollection  to  the  writer.  A  part  of  the  face,  with 
teeth,  was  observed  projecting  from  the  side  of  a 
bluff  by  a  companion  in  exploration,  (  Lieut.  Jas.  H. 
Whitten,  U.  S.  A.),  and  we  at  once  proceeded  to  fol- 
low up  the  indication  with  knives  and  picks.  Soon 
the  lower  jaws  were  uncovered,  with  their  glistening 
teeth,  and  then  the  vertebrae  and  ribs.  Our  delight 
was  at  its  height  when  the  bones  of  the  pelvis  and 
part  of  the  hind  limb  were  laid  bare,  for  they  had 
never  been  seen  before  in  the  species  and  scarcely  in 
the  order.  While  lying  on  the  bottom  of  the  cre- 
taceous sea,  the  carcass  had  been  dragged  hither  and 
thither  by  the  sharks  and  other  rapacious  animals, 
and  the  parts  of  the  skeleton  were  displaced  and 
gathered  into  a  small  area.  The  massive  tail 
stretched  away  into  the  bluff,  and  after  much  labo- 
rious excavation  we  left  a  portion  of  it  to  more  per- 
severing explorers.  The  species  of  Clidastes  did  not 
reach  such  a  size  as  some  of  the  Liodons,  and  were 
of  elegant  and  flexible  build.  To  prevent  their  habits 
of  coiling  from  dislocating  the  vertebral  column,  these 
had  an  additional  pair  of  articulations  at  each  end, 
while  their  muscular  strength  is  attested  by  the  ele- 
gant striae  and  other  sculptures  which  appear  on  all 
their  bones.  Three  species  of  this  genus  occur  in  the 
Kansas  strata,  the  largest  (Clidastes  cineriarum, 
Cope)  reaching  forty  feet  in  length.  The  discovery 
of  a  related  species  (Holcodus  coryphceus^  Cope)  was 
made  by  the  writer  under  circumstances  of  difficulty 
peculiar  to  the  plains.  After  examining  the  bluffs 
for  half  a  day  without  result,  a  few  bone  fragments 


I 


A  CHAT  WITH  PROF.  COPE — CONTINUED.         353 

were  found  in  a  wash  above  their  base.  Others 
led  the  way  to  a  ledge  forty  or  fifty  feet  from  both 
summit  and  foot,  where,  stretched  along  in  the  yel- 
low chalk,  lay  the  projecting  portions  of  the  whole 
monster.  A  considerable  number  of  vertebrae  were 
found  preserved  by  the  protective  embrace  of  the 
roots  of  a  small  bush,  and,  when  they  were  secured, 
the  pick  and  knife  were  brought  into  requisition  to 
remove  the  remainder.  About  this  time  one  of  the 
gales,  so  common  in  that  region,  sprang  up,  and, 
striking  the  bluff  fairly,  reflected  itself  upwards.  So 
soon  as  the  pick  pulverized  the  rock,  the  limestone 
dust  was  carried  into  eyes,  nose,  and  every  available 
opening  in  the  clothing.  I  was  speedily  blinded,  and 
my  aid  disappeared  into  the  canyon,  and  was  seen  no 
more  while  the  work  lasted.  Only  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  student  could  have  endured  the  discomfort, 
but  to  him  it  appeared  a  most  unnecessary  "  con- 
version of  force"  that  a  geologist  should  be  driven 
from  the  field  by  his  own  dust.  A  handkerchief  tied 
over  the  face,  and  pierced  by  minute  holes  opposite 
the  eyes,  kept  me  from  total  blindness,  though  dirt 
in  abundance  penetrated  the  mask.  But  a  fine  relic 
of  creative  genius  was  extricated  from  its  ancient 
bed,  and  one  that  leads  its  genus  in  size  and  explains 
its  structure. 

On  another  occasion,  riding  along  a  spur  of  a  yel- 
low chalk  bluff,  some  vertebrae  lying  at  its  foot  met 
my  eye.  An  examination  showed  that  the  series  en- 
tered the  rock,  and,  on  passing  round  to  the  opposite 
side  the  jaws  and  muzzle  were  seen  projecting  from 
it,  as  though  laid  bare  for  the  convenience  of  the  go- 


354  BUFFALO   LAJS^D. 

ologist.  The  spur  was  small  and  of  soft  material,  and 
we  speedily  removed  it  in  blocks,  to  the  level  of  the 
reptile,  and  took  out  the  remains,  as  they  laid  across 
the  base  from  side  to  side.  A  genus  related  to  the 
last  is  Edestosaurus.  A  species  of  thirty  feet  in 
length,  and  of  elegant  proportions  has  been  called  Fj. 
tortor  (Cope.)  Its  slenderness  of  body  was  remark- 
able, and  the  large  head  was  long  and  lance-shaped. 
Its  flippers  tapered  elegantly,  and  the  whole  animal 
was  more  of  a  serpent  than  any  other  of  its  tribe.  Its 
lithe  movements  brought  many  a  fish  to  its  knife- 
shaped  teeth,  which  are  more  efficient  and  numerous 
than  in  any  of  its  relatives.  It  was  found  coiled  up 
beneath  a  ledge  of  rock,  with  its  skull  lying  undis- 
turbed in  the  center.  A  species  distinguished  for  its 
small  size  and  elegance  is  Clidastes  ]pumilus  (Marsh). 
This  little  fellow  was  only  twelve  feet  in  length,  and 
was  probably  unable  to  avoid  occasionally  furnishing 
a  meal  for  some  of  the  rapacious  fishes  which 
abounded  in  the  same  ocean. 

Tortoises  were  the  boatmen  of  the  cretaceous 
waters  of  the  eastern  coast,  but  none  had  been 
known  from  the  deposits  of  Kansas  until  very  re- 
cently. One  species  now  on  record  {Protostega  gigas, 
Cope),  is  of  large  size,  and  strange  enough  to  excite 
the  attention  of  naturalists.  It  is  well  known  that 
the  house  or  boat  of  the  tortoise  or  turtle  is  formed 
by  the  expansion  of  the  usual  bones  of  the  skeleton 
till  they  meet  and  unite,  and  thus  become  continu- 
ous. Thus  the  lower  shell  is  formed  of  united  ribs 
of  the  breast  and  breast-bone,  with  bone  deposited 
in  the  skin.     In  the  same  way  the  roof  is  formed 


A   CHAT   WITH   PROF.  COPE — CONTINUED.        355 

by  the  union  of  the  ribs  with  bone  deposited  in  the 
skin.  In  the  very  young  tortoise  the  ribs  are  sepa- 
rate as  in  other  animals ;  as  they  grow  older  they 
begin  to  expand  at  the  upper  side  of  the  upper  end, 
and,  with  increased  age,  the  expansion  extends 
throughout  the  length.  The  ribs  first  come  in  con- 
tact where  the  process  commences,  and  in  the  land- 
tortoise  they  are  united  to  the  end.  In  the  sea-turtle, 
the  union  ceases  a  little  above  the  ends.  The 
fragments  of  the  Protosfega  were  seen  by  one  of  the 
men  projecting  from  a  ledge  of  a  low  bluff.  Their 
thinness  and  the  distance  to  which  they  were  traced 
excited  m}^  curiosity,  and  I  straightway  attacked  the 
bank  with  the  pick.  After  several  square  feet  of  rock 
had  been  removed,  we  cleared  up  one  floor,  and 
found  ourselves  well  repaid.  Many  long  slender 
pieces,  of  two  inches  in  width,  lay  upon  the  ledge. 
They  were  evidently  ribs,  with  the  usual  heads,  but 
behind  each  head  was  a  plate  like  the  flattened  bowl 
of  a  huge  spoon  placed  crosswise.  Beneath  these 
stretched  two  broad  plates  two  feet  in  width,  and 
no  thicker  than  binders'  board.  The  edges  were 
fingered,  and  the  surface  hard  and  smooth.  All  this 
was  quite  new  among  fully  grown  animals,  and  we  at 
once  determined  that  more  ground  must  be  explored, 
for  further  light.  After  picking  away  the  bank  and 
carving  the  soft  rock,  new  masses  of  strange  bones 
were  disclosed.  Some  bones  of  a  large  paddle  were 
recognized,  and  a  leg  bone.  The  shoulder-blade  of  a 
huge  tortoise  came  next,  and  further  examination 
showed  that  we  had  stumbled  on  the  burial-place  of  one 
of  the  largest  species  of  sea-turtle  yet  known.   The  sin- 


356  BUFFALO    LATs^D. 

gle  bones  of  the  paddle  were  eight  inches  long,  giving 
the  spread  of  the  expanded  flippers  as  considerably 
over  twenty  feet.  But  the  ribs  were  those  of  an 
ordinary  turtle  just  born,  and  the  great  plates  repre 
sented  the  bony  deposit  in  the  skin,  which,  com 
mencing  independently  in  modern  turtles,  united 
with  the  expanded  ribs  below,  at  an  early  day.  But 
it  was  incredible  that  the  largest  of  known  turtles 
should  be  but  just  hatched,  and  for  this  and  other 
reasons  it  has  been  concluded  that  this  "  ancient  mari- 
ner "  is  one  of  those  forms  not  uncommon  in  old  days, 
whose  incompleteness  in  some  respects  points  to  the 
truth  of  the  belief,  that  animals  have  assumed  their 
modern  perfection,  by  a  process  of  growth  from  more 
simple  beginnings. 

The  cretaceous  ocean  of  the  West  was  no  less  re- 
markable for  its  fishes  than  for  its  reptiles.  Sharks 
do  not  seem  to  have  been  so  common  as  in  the  old 
Atlantic,  but  it  swarmed  with  large  predaceous  forms 
related  to  the  salmon  and  saury. 

Yertebrse  and  other  fragments  of  these  species  pro- 
ject from  the  worn  limestone  in  many  places.  I  will 
call  attention  to,  perhaps,  the  most  formidable,  as 
well  as  the  most  abundant  of  these.  It  is  the  one 
whose  bones  most  frequently  crowned  knobs  of  shale, 
which  had  been  left  standing  amid  surrounding  de- 
struction. The  density  and  hardness  of  the  bones 
shed  the  rain  oif  on  either  side,  so  that  the  radiating 
gutters  and  ravines  finally  isolated  the  rock  mass 
from  that  surrounding.  The  head  was  some  inches 
longer  than  that  of  a  fully  grown  grizzly  bear,  and 
the  jaws  were  deeper  in  proportion  to  their  length. 


o      W 


J<5        < 

o 

o 
z 
n 

w 

•"  o 
*■  o 
---.    <: 

M 


O   S 


3  <y> 

3    • 
x"  O 

3 


A  CHAT  WITH  PROF.  COPE — CONTINUED.        359 

The  muzzle  was  shorter  and  deeper  than  that  of  a 
bull-dog.  The  teeth  were  all  sharp  cylindric  fangs, 
smooth  and  glistening,  and  of  irregular  size.  At 
certain  distances  in  each  jaw  they  projected  three 
inches  above  the  gum,  and  were  sunk  one  inch  into 
the  bony  support,  being  thus  as  long  as  the  fangs 
of  a  tiger,  but  more  slender.  Two  such  fangs  crossed 
each  other  on  each  side  of  the  middle  of  the  front. 
This  fish  is  known  as  Portheus  molossus  (Cope).  Be- 
sides the  smaller  fishes,  the  reptiles  no  doubt  sup- 
plied the  demands  of  his  appetite. 

The  ocean  in  which  flourished  this  abundant  and 
vigorous  life,  was  at  last  completely  inclosed  on  the 
west,  by  elevation  of  sea-bottom,  so  that  it  only  com- 
municated with  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  at  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  and  the  Arctic  Sea.  The  continued  eleva- 
tion of  both  eastern  and  western  shores  contracted 
its  area,  and  when  ridges  of  the  sea-bottom  reached 
the  surface,  forming  long  low  bars,  parts  of  the 
water  area  were  inclosed  and  connection  with  salt 
water  prevented.  Thus  were  the  living  beings  im- 
prisoned and  subjected  to  many  new  risks  to  life. 
The  stronger  could  more  readily  capture  the  weaker, 
while  the  fishes  would  gradually  j)erish  through  the 
constant  freshening  of  the  water.  With  the  death 
of  any  considerable  class  the  balance  of  food  supply 
would  be  lost,  and  many  larger  species  would  disap- 
pear from  the  scene.  The  most  omnivorous  and  en- 
during would  longest  resist  the  approach  of  starva- 
tion, but  would  finally  yield  to  inexorable  fate;  the 
last  one  caught  by  the  rising  bottom  among  shallow 


360  BUFFALO   LAND. 

pools  from  which  his  exhausted  energies  could  not 
extricate  him. 

PART  II — GEOLOGY. 

The  geology  of  this  region  has  been  very  partially 
explored,  but  appears  to  be  quite  simple.  The  fol- 
lowing description  of  the  section  along  the  line  of  the 
Kansas  Pacific  Railroad,  will  probably  apply  to  sim- 
ilar sections  north  and  south  of  it.  The  formations 
referable  to  the  cretacious  period  on  this  line,  are 
those  called  by  Messrs.  Meek  and  Hayden  the  Da- 
kota, Benton,  and  Mobrara  groups,  as  Wos.  1,  2  and 
3.  According  to  Leconte,*  at  Salina,  one  hundred 
and  eighty-five  miles  west  of  the  State  line  of  Mis- 
souri, the  rocks  of  the  Dakota  group  constitute  the 
bluifs,  and  continue  to  do  so  as  far  as  Fort  Harker, 
thirty-three  miles  farther  west.  They  are  a  "  coarse 
brown  sand-stone,  containing  irregular  concretions 
of  oxide  of  iron,"  and  numerous  molluscs  of  marine 
origin.  IS'ear  Fort  Harker,  certain  strata  contain 
large  quantities  of  the  remains  (leaves  chiefly)  of 
dicotyledonous  and  other  forms  of  land  vegetation. 
Wear  this  point,  according  to  the  same  authority, 
the  sand-stone  beds  are  covered  with  clay  and  lime- 
stone. These  he  does  not  identify,  but  portions  of  it 
from  Bunker  Hill,  thirty-four  miles  west,  have  been 
identified  by  Dr.  Hayden,  as  belonging  to  the  Ben- 
ton or  second  group.  The  specimen  consisted  of  a 
block  of  dark,  bluish-gray  clay  rock,  which  bore  the 

*  Notes  on  the  geology  of  the  survey  for  the  extension  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Road  E.  D.  from  the  Smoky  Hill  to  the  Rio  Grande, 
by  John  L.  Leconte,  M.  D.     Philadelphia,  1868. 


A  CHAT  WITH  PROF.  COPE — CONTINUED.    361 

remains  of  the  fish  Apso^elix  sauriformis  (Cope). 
That  the  eastern  boundary  of  this  bed  is  very  sinu- 
ous is  rendered  probable  by  its  occurrence  at  Brook- 
ville,  eighteen  miles  to  the  eastward  of  Fort  Harker, 
on  the  railroad.  In  sinking  a  well  at  this  point,  the 
same  soft,  bluish  clay  rock  was  traversed,  and  at  a 
depth  of  about  thirty  feet  a  skeleton  of  a  saurian  of 
the  crocodilian  order  was  encountered,  the  Hyiwsaurus 
vehhii  (Cope). 

The  boundary  line,  or  first  appearance  of  the  beds 
of  the  Niobrara  division,  has  not  been  pointed  out, 
but  at  Fort  Hays,  seventy  miles  west  of  Fort  Harker, 
its  rocks  form  the  bluffs  and  outcrops  every-where. 
From  Fort  Hays  to  Fort  Wallace,  near  the  western 
boundary  of  the  state,  one  hundred  and  thirty-four 
miles  beyond,  the  strata  present  a  tolerably  uniform 
appearance.  They  consist  of  two  portions  ;  a  lower, 
of  dark-bluish  calcareo-argillaceous  character,  often 
thin-bedded;  and  a  superior,  of  yellow  and  whitish 
chalk,  much  more  heavily  bedded.  Near  Fort  Hays 
the  best  section  may  be  seen,  at  a  point  eighteen  miles 
north,  on  the  Saline  river.  Here  the  bluffs  rise  to  a 
height  of  two  hundred  feet,  the  yellow  strata  consti- 
tuting the  upper  half.  No  fossils  were  observed  in 
the  blue  bed,  but  some  moderate-sized  Ostrece^  fre- 
quently broken,  were  not  rare  in  the  yellow.  Half 
way  between  this  point  and  the  Fort,  my  friend,  N. 
Daniels,  of  Hays,  guided  me  to  a  denuded  tract,  cov- 
ered with  the  remains  of  huge  oysters,  some  of  which 
measured  twenty-seven  inches  in  diameter.  They 
exhibited  concentric  obtuse  ridges  on  the  interior 
side,  and  a  large  basin-shaped  area  behind  the  hinge. 


362  BUFFALO   LAND. 

Fragments  of  fish  vertebrae  of  Anogmius  type  were 
also  found  here  by  Dr.  Janeway.  These  were  ex- 
posed in  the  yellow  bed.  Several  miles  east  of  the 
post,  Dr.  J.  H.  Janeway,  Post  Surgeon,  pointed  out  to 
me  an  immense  accumulation  of  Lwceramus  prohleni- 
aticus  in  the  blue  stratum.  This  species  also  oc- 
curred in  abundance  in  the  blufi^s  west  of  the  Fort, 
which  were  composed  of  the  blue  bed,  capped  by  a 
thinner  layer  of  the  yellow.  Large  globular  or  com- 
pound globular  argillaceous  concretions,  coated  with 
gypsum,  were  abundant  at  this  point. 

Along  the  Smoky  Hill  River,  thirty  miles  east  of 
Fort  Wallace,  the  south  bank  descends  gradually, 
while  the  north  bank  is  blufiy.  This,  with  other  in- 
dications, points  to  a  gentle  dip  of  the  strata  to  the 
north-west.  The  yellow  bed  is  thin  or  wanting  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  Smoky,  and  is  not  observable 
on  the  north  fork  of  that  river  for  twenty  miles 
northward  or  to  beyond  Sheridan  Station,  on  the 
Kansas  Pacific  Railroad.  Two  isolated  hills,  "  The 
Twin  Buttes,"  at  the  latter  point  are  composed  of 
the  blue  bed,  here  very  shaly  to  their  summits. 
This  is  the  general  character  of  the  rock  along  and 
north  of  the  railroad  between  this  point  and  Fort 
Wallace. 

South  of  the  river  the  yellow  strata  are  more  dis- 
tinctly developed.  Butte  Creek  Valley,  fifteen  to 
eighteen  miles  to  the  south,  is  margined  by  bluffs  of 
from  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height 
on  its  southern  side,  while  the  northern  rises  gradu- 
ally into  the  prairie.  These  bluffs  are  of  yellow 
chalk,  except  from  ten  to  forty  feet  of  blue  rock  at 


A  CHAT  WITH  PROF.  COPE — CONTINUED.      363 

the  base,  although  many  of  the  canyons  are  exca- 
vated in  the  yellow  rock  exclusively.  The  bluffs  of 
the  upper  portion  of  Butte  Creek,  Fox,  and  Fossil 
Spring  (five  miles  south)  canyons,  are  of  yellow 
chalk,  and  report  of  several  persons  stated  that  those 
of  Beaver  Creek,  eight  miles  south  of  Fossil  Spring, 
are  exclusively  of  this  material.  Those  near  the 
mouth  of  Beaver  Creek,  on  the  Smoky,  are  of  con- 
siderable height,  and  appear  at  a  distance  to  be  of 
the  same  yellow  chalk. 

I  found  these  two  strata  to  be  about  equally  fossil- 
liferous,  and  I  am  unable  to  establish  any  palseonto- 
logical  difference  between  them.  They  pass  into  each 
other  by  gradations  in  some  places,  and  occasionally 
present  slight  laminar  alternations  at  their  line  of 
junction.  I  have  specimens  of  CimolicJithys  semian- 
ceps  (Cope),  from  both  the  blue  and  yellow  beds,  and 
vertebrae  of  the  Liodon  glandiferus  (Cope)  were  found 
in  both.  The  large  fossil  of  Liodon  dyspelor  (Cope) 
was  found  at  the  junction  of  the  bed,  and  the  caudal 
portion  was  excavated  from  the  blue  stratum  ex- 
clusively. Portions  of  it  were  brought  East  in  blocks 
of  this  material,  and  these  have  become  yellow  and 
yellowish  on  many  of  the  exposed  surfaces.  The 
matrix  adherent  to  all  the  bones  has  become  yellow. 
A  second  incomplete  specimen,  undistinguishable 
from  this  species,  was  taken  from  the  yellow  bed. 

As  to  mineral  contents,  the  yellow  stratum  is  re- 
markably uniform  in  its  character.  The  blue  shale, 
on  the  contrary,  frequently  contains  numerous  con- 
cretions, and  great  abundance  of  thin  layers  of 
gypsum  and  crystals  of  the  same.     Near  Sheridan 


364  BUFFALO   LAND. 

concretions  and  septaria  are  abundant.  In  some 
places  the  latter  are  of  great  size  and,  being  em- 
bedded in  the  stratum,  have  suffered  denudation  of 
their  contents,  and,  the  septa  standing  out,  form  a 
huge  honey-comb.  This  region  and  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Eagle  Tail,  Colorado,  are  noted  for  the 
beauty  of  their  gypsum-crystals,  the  first  abundantly 
found  in  the  cretaceous  formation.  These  are  hex- 
agonal-radiate, each  division  being  a  pinnate  or 
feather-shaped  lamina  of  t\yin  rows  of  crystals.  The 
clearness  of  the  mineral,  and  the  regular  leaf  and 
feather  forms  of  the  crystals  give  them  much  beauty. 
The  bones  of  vertebrate  fossils  preserved  in  this  bed 
are  often  much  injured  by  the  gypsum  formation 
which  covers  their  surface  and  often  penetrates  them 
in  every  direction. 

The  yellow  bed  of  the  Niobrara  group  disappears 
to  the  south-west,  west,  and  north-west  of  Fort  Wal- 
lace, beneath  a  sandy  conglomerate  of  uncertain  age. 
Its  color  is  light,  sometimes  white,  and  the  component 
pebbles  are  small  and  mostly  of  white  quartz.  The 
rock  wears  irregularly  into  holes  and  fissures,  and 
the  soil  covering  it  generally  thin  and  poor.  It  is 
readily  detached  in  large  masses,  which  roll  down 
the  bluffs.  No  traces  of  life  were  observed  in  it,  but 
it  is  probably  the  eastern  margin  of  the  southern  ex- 
tension of  the  White  River  Miocene  Tertiar}^  stratum. 
This  is  at  least  indicated  by  Dr.  Hayden,  in  his  geo- 
logical preface  to  Leidy's  extinct  mammals  of  Da- 
kota and  Nebraska. 

Commercially,  the  beds  of  Ihe  Niobrara  formation 
possess  little  value,  except  when  burned  for  manure. 


A  CHAT  WITH  PKOF.  COPE — CONTINUED.         365 

The  yellow  chalk  is  too  soft  in  many  places  for  build- 
ings of  large  size,  but  will  answer  well  for  those  of 
moderate  size.  It  is  rather  harder  at  Fort  Hays,  as 
I  had  occasion  to  observe  at  their  quarry.  That 
quarried  at  Fort  Wallace  does  not  appear  to  harden 
by  exposure ;  the  walls  of  the  hospital,  noted  by  Le- 
conte  on  his  visit,  remained  in  1871  as  soft  as  they 
were  in  1867.  A  few  worthless  beds  of  bituminous 
shale  were  observed  in  Eastern  Colorado. 

The  only  traces  of  Glacial  Action  in  the  line  ex- 
plored were  seen  near  Topeka.  South  of  the  town 
are  several  large,  erratic  masses  of  pink  and  bloody 
quartz,  whose  surfaces  are  so  polished  as  to  appear 
as  though  vitrified.  They  were  transported,  perhaps, 
from  the  Azoic  area  near  Lake  Superior. 


20 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

A  Bi-ViiGE  OUTBREAK — THE  BATTLE  OP  THE  FORTY  SCOUTS — THE  SURPRISE — PACH- 
MULES  STAMPEDED — DEATH  ON  THE  ARICKEREE — THE  MEDICINE  MAN A  DIS- 
MAL NIGHT — MESSENGERS  SENT  TO  WALLACE — MORNING  ATTACK — WHOSK 
FUNERAL  ? — RELIEF  AT  LAST — THE  OLD  SCOUTS'  DEVOTION  TO  THE  BLUB. 

ON  our  return  to  Sheridan  we  were  deeply  pained 
to  hear  of  the  sad  death  of  Doctor  Moore  and 
Lieutenant  Beecher,  whose  acquaintance  we  had 
formed  at  Fort  Hays,  and  the  former  of  whom  we 
had  learned  to  esteem  most  highly  as  a  personal 
friend.  A  scouting  party,  not  long  before,  had  left 
the  post  just  named,  under  the  command  of  General 
Forsythe,  of  Sheridan's  staff,  and  composed  princi- 
pally of  those  citizens  who  had  seen  frontier  service. 
Dr.  Moore  accompanied  it  as  surgeon,  and  Lieut. 
Beecher — a  nephew  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  and 
an  officer  of  the  regular  army — held  the  position  of 
chief  of  scouts,  which  he  had  filled  for  some  time 
previously  with  much  credit.  The  savages  of  the 
plains  being  again  upon  the  war-path,  that  brave 
and  well-organized  little  party  of  fifty  were  dis- 
patched to  pursue  a  band  of  Indians,  which  had  ap- 
peared before  Sheridan  and  run  off  a  lot  of  stock. 
Some  of  the  scouts  were  now  in  the  town,  and  from 

(366) 


PROFESSION  FOLKS  ON  A  SCOUT.  367 

one  of  them  we  obtained  an  account  of  the  expedi- 
tion. Fresh  from  the  mouth  of  that  sandy  hell  in 
the  river's  head,  which  had  sucked  out  the  life-blood 
of  so  many  of  his  companions,  I  wish  my  readers 
could  have  heard  the  story  told  with  the  rude  elo- 
quence in  which  he  clothed  it.  As  it  is,  how  nearly 
they  will  come  to  doing  so,  must  perforce  depend  on 
how  nearly  I  can  remember  his  language. 

"You  see,  captain,"  he  began  (it  is  considered  im- 
polite among  this  class  ever  to  address  one  without 
using  some  title  ),  "  we  had  the  nicest  little  forty  lot 
o'  scouts  that  ever  followed  the  plains  fur  a  living, 
and  trails  fur  an. Injun.  Thar  wur  ingineers,  doctors, 
counter-jumpers,  and  a  few  deadbeats,  but  every  one 
of  'em  had  lots  of  fight,  and  not  the  least  bit  of  scare. 
Ther  talents  run  ter  fightin',  an'  ther  bodies  never 
run  away  from  it. 

"  It  wur  kinder  curious,  though,  to  see  the  chaps 
that  wur  not  bred  ter  ther  business  git  along.  They 
wur  the  profession  folks.  Some  had  a  little  compass, 
not  much  bigger  'n  a  button,  that  they  carried  on  the 
sly.  Good  scouts  do  n't  need  no  such  fixin's.  These 
uns  'ud  reach  inter  ther  pockets,  as  if  they  was  going 
ter  take  a  chaw  o'  terbaccer,  and  gettin'  a  sly  wink 
at  ther  needle,  would  cry  out  ter  ther  neighbors,  *  I 
say,  boss,  we  're  goin'  a  little  too  much  east  of 
north ! '  or,  *  I  tell  yer  what,  fel,  we  're  at  least  two 
p'ints  off  our  course.'  And  all  ther  time  they 
could  n't  have  told  south  from  west,  without  them 
needles.  But  ther  war  n't  a  coward  in  the  whole 
pack.  Every  une  had  a  back  as  stiff  fur  a  fight  as  a  cat. 

"We  struck  a  large  Injun  trail  the  fourth  day  out, 


368  BUFFALO   LAND. 

and  kept  it  till  evenin',  but  no  other  sign  showed  it 
self  over  ther  wide  reach  that  would  have  told  a  liv- 
in'  bein'  had  ever  bin  thar  before  us.  'Next  mornin', 
early,  ther  was  a  sudden  fuss  among  our  horses,  and 
a  cry  from  the  guard,  and,  afore  we  knew  it,  eight 
pack-mules  had  been  stampeded,  and  driven  off.  It 
wur  a  narrow  call  fur  ther  whole  herd. 

"The  fellers  had  come  down  a  ravine  until  they 
got  close  enough,  and,  then  suddenly  rushin'  along  in 
the  grayness,  set  the  mules  inter  a  crazy  run,  and 
gathered  *em  up,  out  of  gun-shot.  You  may  lick  a 
pack-mule  along  all  day,  and  be  afraid  he  '11  drop 
down  dead,  and  yet  give  him  a  fair  chance  to  stam- 
pede, and  he  '11  outrun  an  elk,  and  grow  fat  on  it. 

"  Stock  and  Injuns  was  both  out  of  sight  in  a  jiffy, 
and  the  order  was  given  to  saddle,  and  recapture. 
We  were  just  raisin'  inter  ther  stirrups,  when  some 
of  the  boys  called  out,  and  we  saw  the  whole  valley 
ahead  of  us  filled  with  Injuns  comin'  down.  Ther 
war  n't  no  mules  lost  just  then,  and  we  kinder  fell 
back  onto  a  sort  of  high-water  island  in  the  Arick- 
eree.  That,  yer  know,  is  the  dry  fork  of  the  Repub- 
lican. Bein'  low  water  then,  as  it  is  most  of  the  time 
thar,  nothin'  but  a  dry  bed  of  sand  was  on  each  side. 

"  It  seemed  as  if  the  whole  Injun  nation  was  com- 
ing down  on  us.  Such  a  crowd  o'  lank  ponies,  and 
painted  heathen  astride,  yer  never  see.  I  expected 
seein'  of  'em  would  prevent  mi/  ever  seein'  of  my 
family  agin.  'Jim,'  says  I  to  my  chum,  and  'Bill,' 
says  he  to  me,  and  then  we  did  n't  say  nothin'  more, 
but  as  the  heathen  come  a  chargin',  we  both  put  a 
hand  in  our  pockets,  just  as  if  the  brains  had  been  in 


THE   FIKST   day's  FIGHT.  369 

one  head,  and  then  both  of  us  took  a  chaw  o'  ter- 
baccer. 

"  For  the  next  few  hours  ther  wur  an  awful  scrim- 
mage, and  a  shootin',  and  a  hollerin',  and  a  whizzin' 
of  bullets,  which  made  that  the  hottest  little  island 
ever  stranded  on  sand.  The  boys  had  all  dug  out, 
with  their  hands,  sort  o'  little  rifle-pits,  and  fit  behind 
*em.  We  had  good  Spencers,  with  a  few  Henrys, 
and  the  way  those  patents  spit  lead  at  the  devils' 
hearts  wur  a  caution.  The  first  charge,  they  cum 
close  up  to  us,  and  for  a  hull  minnit,  that  stretched 
out  awfully,  we  were  afraid  they  'd  ride  us  down.  It 
was  reg'lar  cofifee-mill  work  then,  grindin'  away  at 
the  levers,  and  we  flung  bullets  among  'em  astonish- 
in'.  As  fast  as  one  Injun  keeled,  another  'd  pick  him 
up,  and  nary  dead  was  left  on  the  field. 

"  They  follered  up  the  charge  game  by  a  siege 
one,  and  peppered  away  at  us  from  the  neighborin' 
ravines  and  hills.  Ther  number  wur  about  eight 
hundred,  and  some  had  carbines,  and  others  old 
rifles  and  pistols.  A  few  would  sneak  along  in  the 
bottom  grass,  and  get  behind  trees,  and  then  thur 
would  be  a  flash,  and  a  crack,  and  the  ball  would 
come  tearin'  in  among  us,  sometimes  burrowin'  in  a 
human  skull,  or  elsewise  knockin'  down  a  horse. 
And  all  around,  on  the  ridges,  the  squaws  were  a 
dancin'  and  shoutin',  and  the  braves,  whenever  any 
of  'em  got  tired  of  shootin',  would  join  their  ugly 
she's,  and  help  'em  in  kickin'  up  a  hullabaloo. 

"  I  reckon,  arter  they  'd  killed  the  last  boss,  they 
must  ha'  had  a  separate  scalp-dance  fur  each  one  on 
us.     Plain  sailin'  then,  ther  red  fellows  thought — less 


370  jiUFFALO   LAND.  ^ 

than  fifty  white  men  down  in  the  sand,  and  most  a 
thousan'  Injuns  roun'  'em,  and  more'n  a  hundred 
miles  to  the  nearest  fort;  the  weaker  party  bein' 
afoot,  too,  and  the  other  mounted. 

"But  we  soon  made  'em  pitch  another  tune,  beside 
ther  juberlatin'  one.  We  had  took  notice  of  a  big 
Injun,  with  lots  o'  fixins  on  him,  cavortin'  all  round 
ther  island,  and  a  sj)urrin'  up  the  braves.  We  made 
certain  it  wur  the  medicine  man,  and  found  out  arter- 
ward  that  he  'd  been  tellin'  on  'em  ther  pale-faces' 
bullets  would  melt  before  reachin'  an  Injun.  Six  on 
us  got  our  rifles  together,  and  as  ther  old  copper- 
colored  Pillgarlic  cum  dancin'  round,  we  let  fly. 
If  Injun  carcasses  go  along  with  ther  spirits,  I 
reckon  ther  bullets  we  put  into  the  old  sinner,  got 
melted,  sure  enough.  And  what  a  howlin'  thur  was, 
as  his  pony  scampered  in  among  the  squaws,  empty 
saddled ! 

"It  wur  an  awful  sight  to  look  roun'  among  our 
little  sand-works — twenty  killed  and  wounded  men, 
covered  with  blood  and  grit.  Our  leader.  Col.  For- 
sythe,  was  shot  in  both  legs,  a  ball  passin'  through 
the  thigh  part  of  one,  and  a  second  breakin'  the  bones 
of  the  other  below  the  knee.  He  wur  a  knowin'  and 
cool  officer. 

"  Lieut.  Beecher,  a  nephew  of  the  big  preacher, 
was  shot  through  the  small  o'  the  back,  and  lay  thar 
beggin'  us  to  kill,  him.  He  too  wur  a  brave  man,  and 
didn't  flinch,  never,  from  duty  nor  danger.  They 
say  that  his  two  sisters  were  drowned  from  a  sail- 
boat on  the  Hudson,  two  years  ago,  and  that  the  old 
parents  are  left  now  all  alone.     Doc.  Moore  was  shot 


"that  night  was  awful  dismal."        371 

tlirough  the  head,  and  sat  thar  noddin',  and  not 
knowin'  no  one.  I  spoke  to  him  once,  and  he  kinder 
started  back,  as  if  he  see  the  Injun  which  shot  him, 
still  thar.  He  wur  a  good  surgeon,  and  all  the  boys 
liked  him.  I  hev  got  his  gun  down  at  my  tent,  all 
full  o'  sand,  whar  it  got  tramped  arter  he  fell.  * 

"  Culver  lay  dead  on  one  side  of  our  little  island, 
shot  by  an  Injun  that  crawled  up  in  the  grass.  Lots 
o'  others  was  wounded,  and  our  chances  looked  as 
dark  as  ther  night  which  wur  coming  down  on  us. 
But  we  was  glad  ter  see  daylight  burn  out,  as  it  kin- 
der gin  us  a  chance  to  rest  and  think. 

"  That  night  was  awful  dismal.  The  little  spot  o' 
sand,  down  thar  in  the  river's  bed,  seemed  ther  only 
piece  o'  earth  friendly  to  us,  and  we  were  clingin'  to 
it  like  sailors  ter  a  raft  at  sea.  The  darkness  all 
around  was  a  gapin'  ter  swaller  us,  and  a  hidin'  its 
blood-hounds,  to  set  'em  on  with  ther  sun.  Night, 
without  any  thin'  in  it  more  'n  grave-stones,  is  terri- 
fyin'  to  most  people,  but  just  you  fill  it  full  of  pan- 
tin's  for  blood  in  front,  and  Death  sittin'  behind, 
among  the  corpses,  and  watchin'  the  wounded,  and  a 
feller's  blood  falls  right  down  to  January.  It  kinder 
thickens,  like  water  freezin'  round  the  edges,  and 
your  hands  and  feet  get  powerful  cold,  and  you  feel 
as  if  you  would  n't  ever  be  thawed  out,  this  side  of 
the  very  place  you  don't  want  ter  go  to. 

"Toward  midnight,  Stillwell  and  Trudell  crawled 
out  o'  camp,  to  go  for  relief.  They  were  to  creep 
and  sneak  through  the  Injun  lines,  and  get  beyond 

*  I  obtained  the  weapon  that  I  had  loaned  our  friend,  and  have 
carefully  kept  it  since,  as  a  memento. 


372  BUFFALO   LAND. 

'em  by  daylight.  Then  they  would  lay  by,  and  push, 
on  ag'in,  when  dark  cum,  toward  Wallace.  That  lit- 
tle spot  of  barracks,  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles 
ofi^,  kept  up  our  hope  mightily.  It  was  our  light- 
house, like.  We  were  shipwrecked  among  savages, 
and  had  sent  a  couple  of  yawls  oif,  to  tell  the  keeper 
thar  of  danger.  We  knew  if  the  news  reached, 
blue  coats  would  flash  out  to  us,  like  spots  of  light, 
and  our  foes  go  before  'em  as  mist. 

"  But  footin'  it  nights,  and  layin'  by  days,  fur  over 
a  hundred  miles,  through  Injun  country,  is  slow 
work,  and  we  did  n't,  most  on  us,  expect  much ;  and 
our  hearts  follered  the  little  black  spots,  showin'  us 
our  two  companions  a  creepin'  oif  into  darkness,  like 
a  couple  of  wolves.  It  took  good  men,  too,  from  our 
little  party,  and  fur  awhile  I  was  faint-hearted.  In 
our  shipwreck,  it  seemed  like  takin'  bottles  which 
might  ha'  helped  to  hold  out,  and  flingin'  'em  into 
ther  waves,  with  messages  tellin'  how  and  whar  we 
went  down. 

"  About  two  o'clock  Lieut.  Beecher  died,  havin'  for 
some  time  begged  the  men  to  end  his  sufferin's  by 
shootin'  of  him. 

"  We  all  kept  perfect  quiet  that  night — no  fire,  nor 
wur  ther  a  sound  heard,  from  our  little  island,  by  the 
heathen  on  the  blufi^s.  An  just  that  quietness  gave 
'em  the  worst  foolin'  they  ever  had.  It  seems  the 
road  down  river  had  been  left  open  by  'em,  hopin' 
we  would  steal  out  and  run  for  it  durin'  the  night. 
We  bein'  all  on  foot,  they  could  overtake  us  in  the 
mornin',  and  worry  on  us  out  easy.  Durin'  the  dark 
we  waited  quiet,  and  watched,  and  passed  water  to 


A   GENERAL   ABSENTING   OF    INDIANS.  373 

our  wounded,  and  sprinkled  it  over  some  of  'em  who 
could  n't  drink. 

"  It  wer  just  kinder  palin'  like  way  up  in  the  sky, 
and  we  could  see  that  off  down  East,  somewhar,  ther 
mornin'  was  commencin'  ter  climb,  when  Jim 
nudged  me,  and  says,  *  Chum,  what 's  that  ?  '  We 
both  stuck  our  ears  right  up,  like  two  jackass-rab- 
bits, and  listened.  It  wur  all  dark  near  the  ground, 
but  we  could  hear  a  steady,  gallopin'  sound,  comin' 
in  toward  us  from  up  the  ravines,  and  over  the  hills. 
It  wur  like  a  beatin'  of  ther  earth  with  flails  by 
threshers  you  could  n't  see. 

"  The  sound  came  a  creepin'  along  the  sod  so  quick 
we  soon  knew  it  wur  the  Injuns,  on  ther  ponies, 
comin'  down  ter  pick  up  the  trail.  And  now  we  could 
see  'em  a  bobbin'  along  toward  us  in  ther  gloom,  the 
rows  er  ugly  heads  goin'  up  and  down,  like  jumpin'- 
jacks.  It  just  seemed  as  ther  side  er  ther  night 
had  been  painted  all  full  o'  gapin'  red  devils,  and 
ther  sun  wur  jest  revealin'  on  'em.  *  Lay  still ! '  wer 
the  word,  and  each  man  hugged  his  sand  bank,  just 
a  skinnin'  one  eye,  like  a  lizard  over  a  log.  They  'd 
no  idee  we  were  thar,  not  bein'  able  to  understand 
the  grit  of  that  little  forty,  and  they  cum  gallopin' 
along,  careless-like,  happy  as  so  many  ghosts  goin' 
ter  a  fun'ral.  But  it  war  n't  our  fun'ral  just  then. 
When  they  'd  got  so  close  we  could  smell  'em,  colonel 
guv  the  word  ter  fire,  and  we  let  'em  have  it. 
Stranger,  you  ain't  no  idee  what  a  gettin'  up  bluffs, 
and  general  absentin*  of  'emselves  ther  wur.  Arter 
the  fust  crack,  yer  could  n't  see  an  Injun  at  all,  but 
jest  a  lot  er  ponies,  diggin'  it  on  ther  back  track,  and 


374  BUFFALO   LAND. 

you  knowed  painted  cusses  wer  glued  ter  ther  oppo- 
site side  on  'em. 

"We  had  fightin'  until  night  ag'in,  but  no  men 
were  killed  arter  the  fust  day.  The  savages  were 
cautious-like,  and  took  long  range  fur  it.  We  now 
commenced  cuttin'  off  the  hind  quarters  of  our  dead 
bosses,  and  boilin'  small  pieces  in  a  empty  pickle-jar 
belongin'  ter  ther  colonel.  Burke,  he  'd  dug  a  shal- 
low well,  too,  which  gave  us  plenty  of  water.  Hoss 
meat  is  n't  relishin'  at  fust.  One  kin  eat  it,  but,  as 
ther  feller  said  about  crow,  he  don't  hanker  arter  it. 
Ther  gases  had  got  all  through  ther  carcasses,  and 
we  had  ter  sprinkle  lots  o'  gunpowder  inter  the  pot, 
to  kill  the  taste. 

"The  fust  hoss  cut  up  was  my  old  sorrel.  He 
did  n't  go  well  while  livin',  and  could  n't  be  expected 
to  when  dead.  Instead  of  takin'  a  straight  course,  and 
givin'  some  satisfaction,  he  jumped  across  all  the 
turns  inside  o'  me,  and  brought  up  bump  agin  my 
hide,  as  if  he  wer  comin'  through.  He  had  that 
same  trick  o'  cuttin'  corners  when  livin',  and  I  per- 
ceded  ter  give  him  up  as  a  uncontrollable  piece  of 
hoss  flesh. 

"When  night  come  on  agin,  Pliley  and  Whitney 
attempted  ter  get  through  ther  Injun  lines  and  make 
fur  Wallace,  but  were  driven  back.  Fur  ther  next 
few  days  we  kept  eatin'  hoss  flesh,  and  fightin'  oc- 
casionally. The  third  night  Pliley  and  Donovan  suc- 
ceeded in  gettin'  away. 

"  On  the  fourth  day,  Doctor  Moore  died.  After  the 
fifth,  no  Injuns  was  visible,  and  we  gathered  prickly 
pears  and  eat  'em,  boilin'  some  down  inter  syrup. 


BELIEF   AT   LAST.  375 

Our  mouths  were  all  full  of  ther  little  needles,  and  it 
wer  mighty  hard  keepin'  a  stiff  ujDper  lip.  We  were 
eatin'  away  on  our  forty-eight  horses,  and  watchin' 
and  hopin'.  We  could  n't  move,  and  leave  our 
wounded,  or  the  Injuns  would  be  on  'em  right  off. 
The  poor- fellows  had  no  surgeon,  and  were  sufferin' 
terrible  as  't  was. 

"  Ther  mornin'  of  ther  ninth  day  broke  with  a  cry 
\)f  'Injuns!'  Now,  human  natur'  can't  stand  fitin* 
allers.  To  carry  out  my  shipwreck  idee,  fellers  on  a 
raft  kin  cling  an'  swaller  water  fur  awhile,  but  they 
can't  fight  a  hull  grist  o'  hurricanes.  Hoss  meat  an' 
prickly  pears  ain't  jest  ther  thing,  either,  to  slap  grit 
inter  a  man.  Ther  were  a  big  crowd  comin',  sure 
enough,  way  off  on  ther  hills.  We  were  kinder  be- 
ginnin'  ter  despqnd,  when  a  familiar  sort  o'  motion 
on  the  fur  dark  line  spelt  in  air  the  word,  '  Friend ! ' 
It  wer  the  advanced  guard  o'  relief,  approachin'  on 
ther  jump.  Why,  boy" — and  the  old  scout  seized 
hold  of  Semi,  and  shook  him  in  excitement — "talk 
of  Lucknow  and  ther  camels  a  comin',  they  war  n't 
nowhar.  The  blessed  old  blue  cloth  !  If  yer  want 
ter  love  a  color,  jest  get  saved  by  it  once.  When  I 
get  holed  in  ther  earth,  I  '11  take  back  ter  dust  on  a 
blue  blanket,  an'  if  I  get  married  afore,  gal  an'  I  '11 
wear  blue,  an'  the  preacher  '11  hev  ter  swar  a  blue 
streak  in  jinin'  us  !  " 

We  afterward  met  others  of  the  scouts — intelli- 
gent, clear-headed  fellows,  with  much  more  of  culti- 
vation than  our  rough  friend  possessed — and  they 
corroborated  his  story  in  every  particular.  I  have 
let  him  tell  it  in  his  own  way,   not  only  because 


376  BUFFALO     LAND. 

vastly  more  graphic  than  any  words  of  mine  could 
be,  but  also  to  the  end  that  the  reader  might  become 
acquainted  with  a  genuine  frontiersman — one  of  that 
class  which  is  wheeling  into  line  with  the  immense 
multitudes  of  Indians  and  buffalo  that  time  and  civil- 
ization are  bearing  swiftly  onward  to  hide  among  the 
memories  of  the  past. 

That  the  savages  suffered  very  severely  in  their 
several  attacks  upon  that  little  band  of  heroes  on  the 
Arickeree,  was  evident  from  the  number  of  bodies 
found  by  the  relief,  as  it  hastened  forward  from  Fort 
Wallace.  The  corpses  were  resting  on  hastily-con- 
structed scaffolds,  and  some  had  evidently  been 
placed  there  while  dying,  as  the  ground  underneath 
was  yet  wet  with  blood. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


Tlth  BTAGB  DRIVERS  OP  THE  PLAINS — OLD  BOB — "JAMAICA  AND  GINGER  " — AN  OLD  AC- 
QUAINTANCE— BEADS  OP  THE   PAST — ROBBING   THE   DEAD A    LEAP    PROK   THB 

LOST  HISTORY  OF  THB  MOUND  BUILDERS — INDIAN  TRADITIONS — SPECULATIONS — 
ADOBE  HOUSES  IN  A  RAIN — CHEAP  LIVING — WATCH  TOWERS. 


THE  stage  drivers  of  the  plains  are  rapidly  be- 
coming another  inheritance  of  the  past,  pushed 
out  of  existence  by  the  locomotive,  whose  cow-catcher 
is  continually  tossing  them  from  their  high  seats  into 
the  arms  of  History.  What  a  rare  set  they  are, 
though  !  No  two  that  I  ever  saw  were  nearly  alike, 
and  they  resemble  not  one  distinctive  class,  but  a 
number.  The  Jehus  who  crack  their  whips  over  the 
buffalo  grass  region,  and  turn  their  leaders  artisti- 
cally around  sharp  corners  in  rude  towns,  are 
made  up  on  a  variety  of  patterns.  Some  are  loqua- 
cious and  others  silent,  and  while  a  portion  are  given 
to  profanity,  another  though  smaller  number  are 
men  of  very  proper  grammar.  Some  with  whom  I 
have  ridden  would  discount  truth  for  the  mere  love 
of  the  exercise,  while  others  I  have  found  so  partic- 
ular that  they  could  not  be  induced  to  lie,  except 
when  it  was  for  their  interest  to  do  so. 

In  a  village  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Champlain,  in 
the  frozen  regions  of  northern  New  York,  where  mer- 

(377) 


378  BUFFALO   LAND. 

cury  becomes  solid  in  November,  and  remains  so 
until  May,  I  got  on  intimate  terms,  when  a  boy, 
with  a  stage  driver.  During  the  long  winters  the 
coaches  were  placed  on  sleds,  and  well  do  I  remem- 
ber the  style  in  which  "  Old  Bob,"  as  he  was  uni- 
versally called,  would  come  dashing  into  the  town 
on  frosty  mornings,  winding  uncertain  tunes  out  of 
a  brass  horn,  given  him  years  before  by  a  General 
Somebody,  of  the  State  Militia.  In  front  of  the  long- 
porched  tavern,  the  leaders  would  push  out  to  the 
left,  in  order  to  give  due  magnificence  to  the  right 
hand  circle,  which  deposited  the  coach  at  the  bar- 
room door.  Bearish  in  fur,  and  sour  in  face,  Bob 
would  then  roll  from  the  seat,  rush  up  to  the  bar,  and 
for  the  first  time  open  his  mouth,  to  ejaculate,  "Ja- 
maica and  ginger! "  The  fiery  draught  w^ould  thaw 
out  his  tongue,  as  hot  water  does  a  pump,  and  after 
that  it  was  easy  work  to  pump  him  dry  of  any  and 
all  news  on  the  line  above. 

That  was  many  years  ago,  and  in  a  spot  half  a 
continent  away.  One  morning,  while  at  Sheridan,  I 
heard  the  blast  of  a  horn  up  the  street,  whose 
notes  awakened  echoes  which  had  long  lain  dead 
and  buried  in  boyhood's  memory.  A  moment 
more,  and  out  from  an  avenue  of  saloons  the  over- 
land stage  rattled,  and  on  its  box  sat  the  friend  ot 
my  childhood,  "Old  Bob."  He  had  the  identical 
horn,  and  it  was  the  identical  tune,  which  I  had  so 
often  heard  in  the  by-gone  years,  the  only  difi^erence 
being  that  both  were  cracked,  and  the  lungs  behind 
the  mouth-piece,  touched  by  the  winters  of  sixty-odd, 
wheezed  a  little.     As  the  coach  came  to  the  door,  I 


A  LOVE-LETTER  FOR  THE  PROFESSOR.  379 

jumped  up  by  the  "boot,"  and  grasping  the  old  fel- 
low's hand,  introduced  myself.  Old  Bob  rubbed  his 
eyes,  which  were  weak  and  watery,  and  scanned  me 
closely. 

"Well,  well,  lad,"  he  said,  "your  face  takes  me 
now,  sure  enough.  I  mind  your  father  and  mother 
well,  and  you  're  the  little  rascal  that  stole  my  whip 
once,  when  I  was  thawing  out  with  Jamaica  and 
ginger.  Did  you  tell  me  by  the  old  tune  ?  You  did, 
eh?  Well,  truth  is,  lad,  the  horn  won't  blow  any 
other.  It's  got  to  running  in  that  groove,  and  when 
I  try  to  coax  any  thing  new  out,  it  sets  off  so  that 
it  frightens  the  horses." 

The  coach  w^as  now  ready  for  starting,  and,  as  he 
gathered  up  the  reins,  my  friend  of  auld  lang  syne 
called  out  to  me,  "  When  you  get  back  to  York  State, 
if  you  see  any  Rouse's  Point  people  that  ask  for 
Old  Bob,  tell  them  he  does  n't  take  any  Jamaica  and 
ginger  now.  Tell  them  he 's  out  on  the  plains,  tryin' 
to  get  back  some  of  the  life  the  cussed  stuff  burnt 
out  of  him."  And  away  the  stage  coach  rattled,  and 
soon  was  out  of  hearing. 

JSText  day's  down  stage  brought  intelligence  that 
Bob's  coach  had  been  attacked  by  Indians,  but  the 
old  fellow  had  handled  his  lines  right  skillfully,  and 
brought  mails  and  passengers  through  in  safety. 

Our  last  day  at  Sheridan,  for  the  Professor,  was 
marked  by  two  important  events,  namely  :  a  commu- 
nication from  the  living  present,  and  another  from  the 
dead  past.  The  first  came,  as  the  postmark  showed, 
by  way  of  Lindsey,  on  the  Solomon  river.  The  Pro- 
fessor said  it  was  simply  an  answer  to  some  scientific 


380  BUFFALO   LAND. 

inquiries,  but,  to  our  intense  amusement,  he  blushed 
like  a  school-girl  when  Sachem  bluntly  remarked 
that  the  handwriting  was  feminine,  and  that  the 
scientific  information  in  question  must  certainly  be 
contraband,as  it  was  not  oifered  for  our  benefit  at  all. 

A  geologist  in  love  is  a  phenomenon.  The  dusty 
museum  is  no  place  for  Cupid.  In  his  flights,  the 
mischievous  boy  is  apt  to  hit  his  head  against  fossil 
lizards,  and  his  darts  are  intercepted  by  skulls  which 
were  petrified  before  he  ever  wandered  through  Para- 
dise and  tried  his  first  barb  on  poor  Adam.  The  at- 
mosphere which  inwraps  the  geologist  comes  from  an 
unlovable  age,  in  which  monstrosities  existed  only 
by  virtue  of  their  expertness  in  devouring  other  mon- 
strosities. JN'o  stray  spark  of  love-light  flickered, 
even  for  an  instant,  over  that  waste  of  waters  and 
gigantic  ferns. 

It  was  apparent  that  science  would  sufffer,  unless 
the  Solomon  river  was  included  in  our  homeward 
route.  We  had  examined  the  heart  of  Buffalo  Land, 
having  traversed  its  center  from  east  to  west,  and 
our  party  was  disposed  to  oblige  the  Professor  by  re- 
turning along  the  northern  border.  Southward  two 
hundred  miles  was  the  Arkansas,  flowing  near  the 
southern  limit  of  the  buflklo  region.  While  there 
were  some  reasons  why  we  desired  to  visit  it,  and 
though  it  was,  perhaps,  equally  rich  in  game,  it 
promised  nothing  of  greater  interest,  upon  the  whole, 
than  the  district  we  now  proposed  traversing.  But 
of  this  more  in  the  next  chapter. 

Toward  evening  came  our  introduction  to  what 
we  were  pleased  to  imagine  was  a  beauty  of  the  past, 


"  THERE 'S   A  BUFFERLER  !  "  381 

which  happened  thus :  As  we  were  wandering 
among  the  Mexican  teamsters  loafing  around  the  de- 
pot, an  urchin,  with  half  a  shirt  and  very  crooked 
legs,  ran  up  to  us,  and  exclaimed,  over  a  half  mas- 
ticated morsel  of  cheese,  "Mister,  there's  a  buffer- 
ler ! "  His  crumby  fingers  pointed  in  a  direction 
midway  between  the  horizon  and  a  Mexican  donkey, 
which  its  owner  was  trying  to  drag  across  the  val- 
ley, and  there,  true  enough,  on  the  side  of  a  brown 
ridge,  not  a  mile  off,  w^e  saw  the  game,  feeding  as 
usual. 

Here  was  a  chance  for  horseback  hunting  again, 
which  we  had  not  attempted  for  several  days.  And 
what  a  splendid  opportunity  of  showing  the  natives 
liow  well  we  could  do  the  thing!  Our  wagons  had 
groaned  under  the  burden  of  pelts  and  meats  w^ith 
which  we  had  loaded  them,  and  we  were  suffering 
just  then  from  that  dangerous  confidence  which  first 
success  is  so  apt  to  inspire. 

Half  the  pleasure  of  hunting,  if  sportsmen  would 
but  confess  it,  consists  in  showing  one's  trophies  to 
others.  It  was  not  at  all  surprising,  therefore,  that 
the  send-off  found  two-thirds  of  our  force  in  the  field. 
The  day  was  warm,  and,  though  the  hunters  ran  far 
and  fast,  the  bison  went  still  further  and  faster,  and 
escaped.  He  led  us,  however,  to  greater  spoil  than 
his  own  tough  carcass  ;  for  underneath  the  sod  which 
his  hoofs  spurned,  lay  a  treasure  which  glittered  as 
temptingly  to  geological  eyes  as  gold  to  the  miner, 
when  first  struck  by  his  prospecting  pick. 

The  Professor  trotted  out  of  town  with  becoming 

dignity,  following  the  hunters  merely  to  avail  him- 
21 


382  BUFFALO   LAND. 

self  of  their  protection,  while  examining  the  ridges 
around.  A  mile  out,  the  heat  and  his  rough-paced 
nag  proved  too  much  for  him,  and  he  threw  himself 
upon  the  ground  for  a  rest.  Lying  there,  watching 
idly  the  little  insects  wandering  about,  his  attention 
was  attracted  to  a  colony  of  burrowing  ants,  who,  with 
a  hole  in  the  earth  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  were 
continually  coming  up,  rolling  before  them  small 
grains  of  sand  and  pebbles,  the  latter  obtained  far 
below,  and  a  small  mound  of  them  already  showing 
the  extent  of  their  patient  labors.  The  Professor 
began  to  mark  more  closely  the  tiny  builders,  im- 
agining that  he  could  distinguish  one  of  the  citizens 
going  down,  and  recognize  him  again  as  he  came 
up  again  with  his  burden  from  below. 

Occasionally,  it  seemed  to  the  observant  savan, 
something  blue  was  brought  out,  which  glittered 
more  than  sand.  Looking  closer,  he  discovered  that 
the  shining  particles  were  beads  of  some  bright  sub- 
stance, and  resembling  exactly  those  worn  by  the  In- 
dians of  to-day.  It  thrilled  him,  as  if  he  had  been 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  far-off  ages,  when  the 
world  was  young.  Beneath,  evidently,  lay  the  dead 
of  some  forgotten  tribe,  and  horse  -and  man  were 
resting  upon  a  place  of  sepulcher.  There  was  no 
mound  to  mark  the  spot,  and  if  any  ever  existed, 
the  seasons  of  ages  had  obliterated  it.  The  savage 
races  which  now  roam  the  plains  never  bury  their 
dead,  but  lay  the  bodies  on  scaffolds,  or  hang  them 
in  trees.  And  so  these  little  ants,  robbing  the  graves 
far  beneath  us,  were  bringing  to  our  gaze,  on  a  bright 
summer  day  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  the  mysteries 


ANCIENT   TKADITIONS.  383 

of  ages  already  hoary  with  antiquity  when  Columbus 
first  saw  our  shores. 

We  found  ourselves  wondering  to  what  race  the 
hidden  dead  belonged,  and  whether  the  unpictured 
maidens  of  those  days  were  pleasant  to  look  upon,  or 
true  ancestors  of  the  hideous  and  unromantic  crea- 
tures who,  with  their  savage  lords,  now  roam  the 
plains.  Thinking  of  the  tribes  of  the  past  brought 
those  of  the  present  to  mind,  and,  not  wishing  to 
have  our  hair  presented  as  tribute  to  some  maiden 
wooed  by  treacherous  Cheyenne,  we  turned  our 
horses'  heads  homeward,  bringing  the  beads  with  us, 
safel}^  deposited  in  one  of  our  entomologist's  pocket- 
cases.  They  remain  among  the  trophies  of  our  ex- 
pedition, and  Mr.  Colon  has  lately  written  me  that 
he  will  have  an  excavation  made,  during  the  present 
year,  at  the  spot  where  they  were  found. 

These  beads,  I  can  not  but  think,  form  one  link  in 
a  chain  connecting  an  ancient  people,  perhaps  the 
mound-builders,  with  the  savage  tribes  of  the  present. 
There  is  a  tradition  among  some  of  the  Western  In- 
dians that,  centuries  ago,  a  people,  different  in 
language  and  form  from  the  red  men,  came  from 
over  the  seas  to  trade  beads  for  ponies.  The  buf- 
faloes-were then  larger,  and  the  climate  warmer, 
than  now.  Dissensions  finally  arose,  in  which  the 
strangers  were  killed.  Is  there  not  reason  to  believe 
that  this  tradition  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the  time 
when  some  of  the  large  mammals  still  existed  on 
the  plains,  and  the  genial  sun  looked  down  upon 
pastures  clothed  in  rich  vegetation — a  time  and  re- 
gion, probably,  of  perennial  summer? 


384  BUFFALO    LAND. 

Once,  during  our  stay  in  Kansas,  we  were  directed 
by  a  hunter  to  a  spot  where  he  had  seen  portions  of 
an  immense  skeleton,  and  there  found  one  vertebra 
only  remaining  of  a  mastodon.  It  afterward  trans- 
pired that,  shortly  before  our  trip,  some  Indians  had 
passed  Fort  Dodge  with  the  large  bones  lashed  on 
their  ponies,  taking  them  to  a  medicine-lodge  on  the 
Arkansas,  to  be  ground  up  into  good  medicine.  They 
stated  that  the  bones  belonged  to  one  of  the  big  buf- 
faloes which  roamed  over  the  plains  during  the  times 
of  their  fathers.  At  that  period,  the  Happy  Hunt- 
ing Ground  was  on  earth,  but  was  afterward  re- 
moved beyond  the  clouds  by  the  Great  Spirit,  to 
punish  his  children  for  bad  conduct. 

Many  reasons,  besides  dim  traditions,  exist  for  the 
belief  that  those  mysterious  nations  whose  paths  we 
have  been  able  to  trace  from  the  Atlantic  west,  and 
from  the  Pacific  east,  pushed  inward  until  they  met 
in  the  middle  of  the  continent.  The  numerous 
mounds  in  the  Western  States,  with  the  curious 
weapons  and  vessels  which  they  contain,  show  that 
the  nations  then  existing,  and  migrating  toward  the 
interior,  were  not  only  powerful  but  essentially  un- 
like our  modern  Indians.  To  instance  but  one  illus- 
tration of  this,  there  are  near  Titusville,  Pa.,  ancient 
oil  wells,  which  bear  unmistakable  evidences  of  hav- 
ing been  dug  and  worked  by  the  mound-builders. 
Thus  they  speculated  in  oil,  which  of  itself  is  a  token 
of  high  civilization. 

Coming  east  from  the  Pacific  coast,  we  find  exist- 
ing on  the  very  edge  of  the  desolate  interior  ex- 
tensive ruins  of  ancient  cities,  of  whose  builders  even 


SODHOUSES   or   THE   PLAINS.  385 

tradition  gives  no  account.  By  these  and  other  re- 
mains which  the  gnawing  tooth  of  Time  has  still 
spared  to  us,  the  people  of  those  days  tell  us  that 
they  were  full  of  commercial  energy  ;  and  who  knows 
but  they  may  have  been  as  determined  as  our  nation 
has  ever  been,  to  push  trade  across  from  ocean  to 
ocean?  It  is  highly  probable  also  that  the  Indians  of 
the  interior  were  then  far  superior  to  the  present 
tribes,  as  seems  very  fairly  determined  by  many  of 
the  traditions  and  customs  which  obtain  among  the 
latter. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  considerations,  it  is  not 
remarkable  that  the  beads,  denoting,  as  they  did,  a 
place  and  manner  of  burial  unlike  that  of  the  sav- 
ages of  the  plains,  interested  us  so  much.  It  was 
a  leaf,  we  could  not  but  think,  from  the  lost  history 
of  the  mound-builders. 

A  noticeable  feature  of  life  on  the  plains  is  the 
sod-house,  there  called  an  adobe,  from  some  re- 
semblance to  the  Mexican  structures  of  sun-dried 
brick.  The  walls  of  these  primitive  habitations  are 
composed  of  squares  of  buffalo-grass  sod,  laid  tier  upon 
tier,  roots  uppermost.  A  few  poles  give  support  for 
a  roof,  and  on  these  some  hay  or  small  brush  is  laid. 
Then  comes  a  foot  of  earth,  and  the  covering  is  com- 
plete. When  well-constructed,  these  houses  are 
water-proof,  very  warm  in  winter,  and  cool  in  sum- 
mer ;  but  when  the  eaves  have  been  made  too  short 
to  protect  the  walls,  the  latter  are  liable  to  dissolve 
under  a  heavy  shower.  During  a  sudden  rain  at 
Sheridan,  being  obliged  to  turn  out  early  one  morn- 
ing to  protect  some  goods,  we  discovered  that  the 


386  BUFFALO     LAND. 

neighboring  habitation  had  resolved  itself  into  a 
mound  of  dirt,  resembling  somewhat  a  tropical  ant- 
hill. We  were  still  gazing  at  the  ruins,  when  the 
owner,  clad  in  the  brief  garment  of  night-wear,  came 
spluttering  through  the  roof,  like  a  very  dirty  gnome 
discharged  by  a  mud-volcano.  While  he  stood  there 
in  the  rain,  letting  the  falling  flood  cleanse  him  oif, 
he  remarked,  in  a  manner  that  for  such  an  occasion 
was  certainly  rather  dry — "Lucky  that  houses  are 
dirt-cheap  here,  stranger,  for  I  reckon  this  one  's  sort 
o'  washed !  " 

A  person  of  small  capital,  as  may  readily  be  in- 
ferred, can  live  very  comfortably  on  the  plains.  His 
house  may  be  built  without  nail  or  board,  and  his 
meat  may  be  obtained  at  no  other  expense  than  the 
trouble  of  shooting  it. 

We  saw  many  wooden  buildings  at  the  different 
stage  stations,  ^vhich  had  subterranean  communica- 
tions with  little  sod  watch-towers,  rising  a  couple  of 
feet  above  the  ground,  at  a  distance  of  forty  or  fifty 
yards  from  the  main  building.  Loop-holes  through 
their  walls  afforded  opportunities  for  firing,"  and  if 
the  wooden  stations  were  burned,  the  occupants  could 
find  a  secure  retreat.  We  heard  of  but  one  occasion 
in  which  the  tower  was  ever  used,  but  then 
it  was  most  effectively,  the  savages,  gathered  close 
around  the  main  building,  being  surprised  and  put 
to  sudden  flight,  by  the  murderous  fire  which  seemed 
to  spring  out  of  the  ground  at  their  rear. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

OUtt  PROGRAMME  CONCLUDED — FROM  SHERIDAN  TO  THE  SOLOMON — PIERCE  WINDS— 
A  TERRIFIC  STORM — SHAMUS'  BLOODY  APPARITION  AND  INDIAN  WITCH — A  KD- 
CONNOISSANCB — AN  INDIAN  BURIAL  GROVE — A  CONTRACTOR'S  DARING  AND  IT8 
PENALTY — MORE  VAGABONDIZING — JOSE  AT  THE  LONG  BOW — THE  "WIL1» 
huntress'"  COUNTERPART — SHAMUS  TREATS  US  TO  "  CHILE  " — THE    BEEULT. 

GENTLEMEIST,"  said  the  Professor,  next  morn- 
ing, at  breakfast,  "We  have  well-nigh  ex- 
hausted Buffalo  Land.  IN'orth  of  us  some  twenty 
miles,  the  upper  waters  of  the  Solomon  may  be 
reached.  I  believe  that  district  to  be  rich  in  fossils ; 
it  is  also  interesting  as  the  path  over  which  the  red 
men  have  so  often  swept  on  their  missions  of  murder. 
The  valley  winds  eastward  and  southward  during 
its  course,  and  will  discharge  us  at  Solomon  City,  a 
point  well  back  on  our  homeward  journey.  There 
our  expedition  may  fitly  disband.  Should  it  be  con- 
sidered desirable,  during  the  coming  year,  to  explore 
the  wild  territories  of  the  north-west,  we  can  meet 
at  such  place  as  may  be  designated.  What  say 
you?" 

Our  response  was  a  unanimous  vote  in  favor  of 
accepting  the  programme  thus  sketched  out.  Some 
of  us  desired  the  trip,  and  all  knew  that  the  Pro- 
fessor would  go  at  any  rate. 

(387) 


388  BUFFALO    LAND. 

Our  path  lay  over  the  same  undulating  plain  that 
we  had  been  traversing  for  many  weeks,  the  wind 
blowing  fiercely  in  our  teeth.  The  violent  movement 
of  the  air  over  this  vast  surface  is  often  unpleasant, 
and  during  a  severe  winter  is  more  dangerous  than 
the  intense  cold  of  the  far  north,  as  it  penetrates 
through  the  thickest  clothing.  The  winter  of  1871-2, 
when  numbers  of  hunters  and  herders  were  frozen 
to  death,  illustrated  this  to  a  painful  degree.  The 
months  of  December  and  January  are  usually  mild, 
and  no  precautions  were  taken.  On  the  morning  of 
the  most  fatal  day,  it  was  raining ;  in  the  afternoon, 
the  wind  veered  and  blew  cold  from  the  north,  the 
rain  changing  to  sleet,  and  this,  in  turn,  to  snow  so 
blinding  that  objects  became  invisible  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a  few  feet. 

After  the  storm,  near  Hays  City,  five  men  belong- 
ing to  a  wood-train  were  found  frozen  to  death. 
They  had  unloaded  a  portion  of  their  wood,  and  en- 
deavored to  keep  up  a  fire,  but  the  fierce  wind  blew 
the  flames  out,  snatching  the  coals  from  the  logs,  and 
flinging  them  into  darkness.  The  men  seized  their 
stores  of  bacon  and  piled  them  upon  fresh  kindling, 
but  even  the  inflammable  fat  was  quenched  almost 
instantly.  One  of  another  party,  who  finally  escaped 
the  same  sad  fate,  by  finding  a  deserted  dugout,  said 
it  seemed  as  if  invisible  spirits  seized  the  tongues 
of  flame  and  carried  them,  like  torches,  out  into  the 
awful  blackness.  Thousands  of  Texas  cattle  perished 
during  that  storm.  One  herder,  in  order  to  save  his 
life,  cut  open  a  dying  ox,  and,  after  removing  the 
entrails,  took  his  place  inside  the  warm  carcass. 


» 


RECONNOITERIXG   FOR  WITCHES.  389 

We  noted  a  curious  incident,  relative  to  the 
wind's  fantastic  freaks  on  the  plains,  while  at  Sheri- 
dan. One  day,  during  the  prevalence  of  a  north 
wind,  we  observed  all  the  old  papers,  cards,  and  other 
light  rubbish  which  ornament  a  frontier  town,  mov- 
ing off  to  the  south  like  flocks  of  birds.  Two  days 
afterward,  the  wind  changed,  and  the  refuse  all 
came  flying  back  again,  and  passed  on  to  the  north- 
ward. 

On  the  first  evening  of  our  homeward  journey 
from  Sheridan,  we  encamped  on  what  appeared  to  be 
a  small  tributary  of  the  upper  Solomon.  While  the 
tents  were  being  pitched,  and  the  necessary  provis- 
ions unloaded,  Shamus  strolled  toward  a  clump  of 
trees  half  a  mile  ofl^,  in  hopes  of  securing  a  wild 
turkey  to  add  to  his  stores.  He  soon  came  running 
back  in  a  great  fright,  to  tell  us  that,  as  he  was  pass- 
ing among  the  trees,  the  black  pacer  of  the  plains, 
with  its  bloody  master  in  the  saddle,  had  started  out 
of  a  bottom  meadow  just  beyond,  and  fled  away  into 
the  gloom.  This  was  a  sufficiently  ghostly  tale  in 
itself,  but  it  was  not  all ;  Shamus  further  averred 
that  as  he  turned  to  fly,  he  saw  a  hideous  Indian 
witch  swinging  to  and  fro  in  a  tree  directly  before 
him.  The  spot  was  unwholesome,  he  assured  us,  and 
he  urged  instant  removal. 

It  seemed  evident  that  our  cook  had  some  founda- 
tion for  his  fears,  as  his  terror  was  too  great  and  his 
account  too  circumstantial  for  the  matter  to  be 
simply  one  of  an  excited  imagination.  If  there  were 
Indians  close  by,  it  was  necessary  that  we  should 
know  it  at  once,  and  avoid  the  danger  of  an  attack 


390  BUFFALO    LAND. 

at  dawn.  We  organized  a  reconnoissance  immedi- 
ately, and,  six  men  strong,  moved  toward  the  timber. 
Scattering  as  much  as  possible,  that  concealed  sav- 
ages might  not  have  the  advantage  of  a  bunch-shot, 
we  cautiously  reached  the  border  of  the  trees,  and 
entered  their  shadows.  We  breathed  more  freely; 
if  tree-fighting  was  to  be  indulged  in,  we  now  had  an 
equal  chance.  It  is  a  trying  experience,  reader,  to 
advance  within  range  of  a  supposed  ambuscade,  and 
the  moment  when  one  reaches  the  cover  unharmed 
is  a  blessed  one.  The  logs  and  stumps  which  seemed 
so  hideous,  when  death  was  thought  to  be  crouching 
behind,  suddenly  glow  with  friendship,  and  one  is 
glad  to  know  that  he  can  hug  such  friends,  should 
danger  glare  out  from  the  bushes  ahead. 

As  we  walked  forward,  Shamus'  witch  suddenly 
appeared  before  us.  It  was  the  body  of  a  papoose, 
fastened  in  a  tree. 

The  spot  was  evidently  an  Indian  burying-ground. 
The  corpse  had  been  loosened  by  the  wind,  and  now 
rocked  back  and  forth,  staring  at  us.  It  was  dried 
by  the  air  into  a  shriveled  deformity,  rendered 
doubly  grotesque  by  the  beads  and  other  articles 
with  which  it  had  been  decked  when  laid  away.  We 
had  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  explore  the  grove 
for  other  bodies,  preferring  our  supper  and  our 
blankets.  As  Shamus  stoutlv  held  to  the  storv  of 
the  phantom  pacer,  we  were  forced  to  conclude  that 
some  stray  Indian,  from  motives  of  either  curiosity 
or  reverence,  had  been  visiting  the  grove  when 
frightened  out  of  it  by  our  cook.     In  the  gathering 


DESECRATION   AND   MURDER.  391 

gloom,  a  red  shirt  or  blanket  would  have  answered 
very  well  for  bloody  garments. 

These  burial  spots  are  held  in  high  reverence  by 
the  Indians,  and  their  hatred  of  the  white  man  re- 
ceives fresh  fuel  whenever  the  latter  chops  down  the 
sacred  trees  for  cord-wood.  On  one  occasion,  a  con- 
tractor destroyed  a  burial  grove,  a  few  miles  above 
Fort  Wallace,  to  supply  the  post  with  fuel.  The 
first  blow  of  the  axe  had  scarcely  fallen  upon  the 
tree,  when  some  Indians  who  chanced  to  be  in  the 
neighborhood  sent  word  that  the  desecrator  would 
be  killed  unless  he  desisted.  Messages  from  the  wild 
tribes,  coming  in  out  of  the  waste,  telling  that  they 
were  watching,  ought  to  have  been  warning  suf- 
ficient. But  he  was  reckless  enough  to  disregard 
them,  and  continued  his  work.  The  trees  were 
felled  and  cut  up,  and  the  wood  delivered.  The  con- 
tractor went  to  the  post  for  his  pay,  and  as  he  took 
it,  spoke  in  a  jocose  vein  of  the  threat  which  had 
come  to  naught. 

Soon   afterward,  he  set  out  for  camp.     Midway 

t  there,  he  heard  the  rush  of  trampling  hoofs,  and 
looking  up,  his  horrified  gaze  beheld  a  band  of 
painted  savages  sweeping  down  upon  him  from  out 
the  west.  Five  minutes  later,  he  lay  upon  the  plain 
a  mutilated  corpse,  and  every  pocket  rifled.  The 
Indians  had  fulfilled  their  threats.  The  trees  which 
to  them  answered  the  same  purpose  that  the  marble 
monuments  which  we  erect  over  our  dead  do  among 
us,  had  been  broken  up  by  a  stranger,  and  sold. 
They  acted  very  much  as  white  men  would  have 
done  under  similar  circumstances,  except  that  the 


392  BUFFALO   LAND. 

purloined  greenbacks  were  probably  scattered  on  the 
ground,  or  fastened,  for  the  sake  of  the  pictures,  on 
wigwam  walls,  instead  of  being  put  out  at  interest. 

Our  little  adventure  gave  rise  to  another  evening 
of  "vagabondizing."  Each  one  of  our  men,  includ- 
ing the  Mexicans,  had  some  Indian  tale  of  thrilling 
interest  to  relate,  in  which  he  had  been  the  hero. 
Jose,  a  cross-eyed  child  of  our  sister  Republic,  spun 
the  principal  yarns  of  the  occasion.  He  had  com- 
menced outwitting  Death  while  yet  an  infant,  being 
content  to  remain  quiet  under  a  baker's  dozen  of 
murdered  relations,  that  he  might  be  rescued  after 
the  paternal  hacienda  had  taken  fire,  by  somebody 
who  survived. 

After  a  careful  analysis  of  several  thousand  re- 
markable stories  which  were  told  to  us  first  and  last 
during  our  journey,  I  have  deemed  it  wise  to  repeat 
only  those  which  we  were  able  to  corroborate  after- 
ward. Among  the  latter  is  a  narrative  that  was 
given  us  by  the  guide  on  this  occasion,  having  for 
its  text  a  side  remark  to  the  effect  that  crazy  Ann, 
the  wild  huntress  whom  we  met  above  Hays,  was 
not  the  first  lunatic  who  had  been  seen  wandering 
upon  the  plains.  About  the  close  of  1867,  a  small 
body  of  Kiowas  appeared  in  the  vicinity  of  Wilson's 
Station,  a  few  miles  above  Ellsworth,  being  first  dis- 
covered by  a  young  man  from  Salina,  who  was  herd- 
ing cattle  there.  They  rushed  suddenly  upon  him, 
and  he  fled  on  his  pony  toward  the  station,  a  mile 
away.  The  chief's  horse  alone  gained  on  him,  and 
the  savage  was  just  poising  his  spear  to  strike  him 
down,  when  the  young  man  turned  quickly  in  his  sad- 


THE  fugitive's  histoky.  393 

die,  and  discharged  a  pistol  full  at  his  pursuer's 
breast,  killing  him  instantly.  Meanwhile,  the  half- 
dozen  negro  soldiers  at  the  station  had  been  alarmed, 
and  now  ran  out  and  commenced  firing.  The  Indians 
fled  in  dismay,  without  stopping  to  secure  their  dead 
chieftain,  who  was  at  once  scalped  by  the  station  men, 
and  left  where  he  fell. 

K^ext  morning  the  soldiers  revisited  the  place,  and 
found  that  the  band  had  returned  in  the  night,  and 
removed  the  corpse.  The  negroes  followed  the  trail 
for  a  mile  or  more,  in  order  to  discover  the  place  of 
burial,  and  shortly  found  the  chief's  body  lying  ex- 
posed on  the  bank  of  the  Smoky.  It  had  apparently 
been  abandoned  immediately  upon  the  discovery  that 
the  scalp  had  been  taken,  from  the  belief,  probably, 
which  all  Indians  entertain,  that  a  warrior  thus  mu- 
tilated can  not  enter  the  Happy  Hunting  Ground. 
Now  for  the  apparition  in  question.  As  the  soldiers 
approached  the  spot,  a  Avhite  woman,  in  a  wretched 
blanket,  fled  away.  In  vain  they  called  out  to  her 
that  they  were  friends ;  she  neither  ceased  her  run- 
ning, nor  gave  them  any  answer.  The  men  pursued, 
but  the  fugitive  eluded  them  among  the  trees,  and 
disappeared.  A  few  days  after,  she  was  again  seen, 
but  once  more  succeeding  in  escaping. 

It  afterward  transpired  that,  a  year  or  so  before, 
a  white  girl  had  been  stolen  from  Texas,  and  passed 
into  possession  of  one  of  the  tribes.  She  lost  her 
reason  before  long,  and,  like  all  the  unfortunate 
creatures  of  this  class  among  the  Indians,  became 
an  object  of  superstition  at  once.  One  morning  she 
was  missed  by  her  captors,  and  a  few  days  later  a 


394  BUFFALO   LAND. 

Mexican  teamster  reported  having  seen  a  strange 
woman,  near  his  camp,  who  fled  when  he  approached 
her.  His  description  left  no  doubt  of  her  identity 
with  the  missing  captive.  I  have  since  conversed 
with  some  of  the  soldiers,  then  stationed  at  Wilson, 
and  they  assured  me  that  the  white  girl  was  plainly 
visible  to  them  on  both  occasions.  As  she  was  never 
afterward  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  civilization,  the 
poor  creature  is  believed  to  have  perished  from  ex- 
posure. Possibly  she  was  making  her  way  to  the 
settlements,  when  frightened  back  by  the  negroes, 
who  may  have  resembled  her  late  tormentors  too 
closely  to  be  recognized  as  friends. 

After  one  has  been  for  months  passing  over  a  coun- 
try stained  every-where  by  savage  outrage,  it  is  easy 
to  understand  how  the  man  whose  wife  or  sister  has 
met  the  terrible  fate  of  an  Indian  captive,  can  spend 
his  life  upon  their  trail,  committing  murder.  For  mur- 
der it  is,  when  revenge,  not  justice,  prompts  the  blow, 
and  the  innocent  must  suffer  alike  with  the  guilty. 

While  breakfast  was  preparing  next  morning,  some 
fiend  suggested  to  one  of  our  Mexican  teamsters  that 
the  America.ns  might  like  a  taste  of  Mexico's  stand- 
ard dish,  "chile,"  of  which,  the  fellow  said,  he  had 
a  good  supply  in  his  wagon-chest.  Shamus  was  con- 
sulted, and  assented  at  once,  seeming  delighted  with 
the  prospects  of  astonishing  our  palates  with  a  new 
sensation.  Know,  0  reader,  of  an  inquiring  mind, 
that  chile  consists  of  red  pepper,  served  as  a  boiling 
hot  sauce,  or  stew.  It  is  believed  to  have  been  in- 
vented by  the  Evil  One,  and  immediately  adopted 
in  Mexico. 


A   SENSATION   INDEED.  395 

Shamus  succeeded  admirably  in  his  design  of  con- 
cocting a  sensation  for  us.  Our  alderman  was  ex- 
officio  the  epicure  of  the  party,  half  of  his  duties  as  a 
K'ew  York  city  father  having  been  to  study  carefully 
all  known  flavors.  He  always  tasted  new  dishes, 
and  on  our  behalf  accepted  or  rejected  them.  When, 
therefore,  the  savory  stew  came  before  us,  he  experi- 
mented with  a  mouthful.  Immediately  thereafter  a 
commotion  arose  in  camp,  and  Shamus  fled  before  the 
righteous   wrath  of   Sachem. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

THE  BLOCK-HOUSB  ON  THE  SOLOMON — HOW  THE  OLD  MAN  DIED — WACONDi  DA — 
LEGEND  OP  WA-BOG-AHA  AND  HEWGAW — SABBATH  MORNING — SACHEM's  PO- 
ETICAL EPITAPH — AN  ALARM — BATTLE  BETWEEN  AN  EMIGRANT  AND  THE  IN- 
DIANS— WAS  IT  THE  SYDNEYS  ? — TO  THE  RESCUE — AN  ELK  HUNT — ROCKY 
MOUNTAIN  SHEEP — NOVEL  MODE  OP  HUNTING  TURKEYS — IN  CAMP  ON  THE 
SOLOMON — A  WARM  WELCOME. 

ON  the  second  day  we  reached  the  Solomon,  and 
directed  our  course  down  its  valley.  Shamus* 
face  was  as  bright  as  if  he  was  about  to  blow  up  an 
English  prison,  which,  for  so  pronounced  a  Fenian, 
indicated  a  happiness  of  the  very  highest  degree.  It 
was  evident  that  Irish  Mary  had  hold  of  the  other 
end  of  our  cook's  heart-strings,  and  was  twitching 
them  merrily.  Cupid  had  indeed  found  us  in  the 
solitude,  and,  as  Sachem  expressed  it,  was  "whang- 
ing away  "  at  two  of  our  number,  at  least,  most  re- 
morselessly. 

Two  days'  ride  brought  us  to  the  forks  of  the  river, 
where  a  block -house  had  been  built  a  year  or  two 
before,  and  in  which  we  expected  to  find  a  resident. 
Since  its  abandonment  by  the  troops,  it  had  been 
occupied  by  an  elderly  man,  known  as  Doctor  Rose, 
who,  solitary  and  alone,  was  holding  this  frontier 
post,  that,  when  civilization  came,  he  might  possess 
it  as  a  farm.    We  were  disaj;)pointed.    The  barricade 

(396) 


DEATH   IN   THE   DARKNESS.  397 

was  deserted,  and  every  thing  about  it  as  silent  as 
the  grave.  IS"©  curling  smoke  uprose  among  the 
trees,  and  the  everlasting  hills  and  dusky  prairies 
stretched  away  on  all  sides  in  weird,  wild  desolation. 
We  shook  the  door,  and  called,  but  found  no  answer. 
It  was  fastened  upon  the  inside,  and  as  we  had  no 
right  to  force  it,  we  passed  on,  and  encamped  by  the 
"  Waconda  Da,"  or  Great  Spirit  Salt  Spring,  a  few 
miles  below. 

We  did  not  suppose  that  the  old  man  we  had 
sought  was  so  near  us.  Up  on  a  high  ridge  only  a 
short  distance  off,  his  body  was  lying,  another  vic- 
tim of  Indian  murder.  Savages  had  been,  raiding 
through  the  settlements  below,  and  thinking  himself 
exposed,  he  had  contrived  to  fasten  the  door  of  the 
block-house  from  the  outside,  and  attempted  to  escape 
in  the  night.  Xo  one  but  the  red  murderers  saw  the 
old  man  die,  and  how  and  when  they  met  him  will 
never  be  known ;  but  his  body  was  found  near  the 
roadside,  where  the  path  wound  over  a  high  ridge, 
and  within  sight  of  the  Waconda,  and  there  it  was 
afterward  laid  in  its  lonely  sepulcher  by  his  sorrow- 
ins^  familv. 

Down  on  a  creek  below,  the  savages,  on  the  pre- 
vious evening,  had  been  sweeping  off  the  thin  line  of 
settlements,  as  a  broom  sweeps  spiders^  houses  from 
the  wall.  Perhaps  some  dark  demon  eye,  glancing 
up  from  the  crimson  trail,  saw  the  old  man,  bending 
under  the  weight  of  years,  feebly  trying  to  save  the 
few  remaining  days  left  him,  and  turned  pitilessly 
aside  to  hurl  him  into  that  grave  which,  at  best, 

could  not  be  far  off.     No  struggle  was  visible  where 
22 


398  BUFFALO   I^ND. 

he  fell,  and  it  is  probable  that  they  approached  him 
with  a  treacherous  "How,  how?  "  and  a  hand-shake, 
and,  as  he  gave  the  grasp  of  friendship,  struck  him 
down,  and  launched  him  into  eternity. 

Waconda  Da,  Great  Spirit  Salt  Spring,  is  among 
tlie  most  remarkable  natural  curiosities  of  the  West, 
and  is  held  in  great  reverence  by  the  native  tribes. 
It  presents  the  appearance  of  a  large  conical  mass  "of 
rock,  about  forty  feet  high,  shaped  like  an  inverted 
bowl,  and  smooth  as  mason-work.  In  the  center  of 
its  upper  surface,  is  the  spring,  shallow  at  the  rim, 
and  in  the  middle  having  a  well-like  opening,  about 
twenty  feet  in  depth.  Into  this  pool  the  Indians  cast 
their  offerings,  ranging  from  old  blankets  to  stolen 
watches,  thereby  to  appease  the  Great  Spirit. 
(From  his  location.  Sachem  thought  the  latter 
must  be  an  old  salt.) 

We  fished  with  a  hooked  stick  for  some  time,  and 
were  rewarded  by  bringing  up  a  ragged  blanket  and 
a  shattered  gunstock.  All  around  the  rim  of  the 
opening  were  incrustations  of  salt,  and  the  brackish 
water  trickled  over,  and  ran  in  little  rivulets  down 
the  huge  sides.  At  the  base  of  the  rock,  a  dead  buf- 
falo was  fast  in  the  mud,  having  died  where  he 
mired,  while  licking  the  Great  Spirit's  brackish 
altar. 

As  no  remarkable  spot  in  Indian  land  should  ever 
be  brought  before  the  public  without  an  accompany- 
ing legend,  I  shall  present  one,  selected  out  of 
several  such,  w^hich  has  attached  itself  to  this.  To 
make  tourists  fully  appreciate  a  high  bluff  or  pic- 
turesquely dangerous  spot,  it  is  absolutely  essential 


iiijii 


I'l'irliliniEHIHIIIIii'tliill 


!.  ■'■t 


fiHi'jiHini:iiiiii',iiii'.iii'Wi'i'ii'ii;ii:i^iiii:!i'iiiiiiii!ii!'.iij5' 


THE  LEGEND  OF  WACONDA.         401 

that  some  fond  lovers  should  have  jumped  down  it, 
hand-in-hand,  in  sight  of  the  cruel  parents,  who 
struggle  up  the  incline,  only  to  be  rewarded  by  the 
heart-rending  ^^la/^.     This,  then,  is 

THE   LEGEND   OF   WACONDA. 

Many  moons  ago — no  orthodox  Indian  story  ever 
commenced  without  this  expression — a  red  maiden, 
named  Hewgaw,  fell  in  love.  (And  I  may  here  be 
permitted  to  quote  a  theory  of  Alderman  Sachem's, 
to  the  etfect  that  Eve's  daughters  generally  fall  into 
every  thing,  including  hysterics,  mistakes,  and  the 
fashions.)  Hewgaw  was  a  chief's  daughter,  and  en- 
couraged a  savage  to  sue  for  her  hand  who,  having 
scalped  but  a  dozen  women  and  children,  was  only 
high  private  or  "  big  soldier."  Chief  and  lover  were 
quickly  by  the  ears,  and  the  fiat  went  forth  that  Wa- 
bog-aha  must  bring  four  more  scalps,  before  aspiring 
to  the  position  of  son-in-law.  This  seemed  as  impos- 
sible as  Jason's  task  of  old.  War  had  existed  for 
some  time,  and,  as  there  was  no  chance  for  surprises, 
scalp-gathering  was  a  harvest  of  danger. 

There  seemed  no  alternative  but  to  run  for  it,  and 
so,  gathering  her  bundle,  Hewgaw  sallied  out  from 
the  first  and  only  story  of  the  paternal  abode,  as 
modern  young  ladies,  in  similar  emergencies,  do 
from  the  third  or  fourth.  Through  the  tangled 
masses  of  the  forest,  the  red  lovers  departed,  and 
just  at  dawn  were  passing  by  the  Waconda  Spring, 
into  whose  waters  all  good  Indians  throw  an  offer- 
ing.    Wa-bog-aha  either  forgot  or  did  not  wish  to 


402  BUFFALO   LAND. 

do  so.  Instantly  the  spring  commenced  bubbling 
wratlifully.  So  far,  the  Grreat  Spirit  had  guided  the 
lovers;  now,  he  frowned.  An  immense  column  of 
salt  water  shot  out  of  Waconda  high  into  air,  and  its 
brackish  spray  dashed  furiously  into  the  faces  of 
Wa-bog-aha  and  Hewgaw,  and  drove  them  back. 

The  saltish  torrent  deluged  the  surrounding 
plains — putting  every  thing  into  a  pretty  pickle,  as 
may  well  be  imagined.  The  ground  was  so  soaked 
that  the  salt  marshes  of  Western  Kansas  still  remain 
to  tell  of  it,  and,  a  portion  of  the  flood  draining  off, 
formed  the  famous  "salt  plains."  Along  the  Arkan- 
sas and  in  the  Indian  Territory,  the  incrustations  are 
yet  found,  covering  thousands  of  acres.  The  Kansas 
River,  for  hours,  was  as  brackish  as  the  ocean,  its 
strangely  seasoned  waters  pouring  into  the  Missouri, 
and  from  thence  into  the  Mississippi.  It  was  this, 
according  to  tradition,  which  caused  such  a  violent 
retching  by  the  Father  of  Waters,  in  1811.  The 
current  flowed  backward,  and  vessels  were  rocked 
violently — phenomena  then  ascribed  by  the  material- 
istic white  man  to  an  earthquake. 

Too  late  the  luckless  pair  saw  their  mistake,  and 
started  for  the  summit  of  Waconda,  just  as  the 
angry  father  put  in  his  very  unwelcome  appearance. 
Had  they  avoided  looking  toward  the  spring,  all, 
perchance,  might  yet  have  been  well.  Without  ex- 
ception, the  medicine  men  had  written  it  in  their 
annals  that.no  eye  but  their  own  must  ever  gaze 
back  at  Waconda,  after  once  passing  it.  Tradition 
explains  that  this  was  to  avoid  semblance  of  regret 
for  gifts  there  offered  the  Great  Spirit.     Sachem, 


SABBATH   I]^   THE   SOLITUDE.  403 

however,  is  of  the  opinion  that  in  giving  these  orders 
the  medicine  men  had  the  gifts  in  their  eye,  and 
simply  wished  time  to  put  them  in  their  pockets. 
Hewgavv  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  peep. 
Immediately  around  the  rock  all  was  quiet,  while 
without  the  narrow  circle  the  descending  torrents 
were  dashed  fiercely  by  the  winds.  The  beasts  of 
the  plains,  in  countless  numbers,  came  rushing  in 
toward  the  Waconda,  their  forms  white  with  coat- 
ings of  salt,  and  probably  representing  the  largest 
amount  of  corned  meat  ever  gathered  in  one  place. 

All  the  brute  eyes — knightly  elk,  kingly  bison,  and 
currish  wolves — were  turned  toward  the  top  where 
Wa-bog-aha  and  Hewgaw  stood,  casting  their  valua- 
bles, as  appeasing  morsels,  into  the  hissing  spring. 
It  refused  to  be  quieted.  Suddenly,  the  lovers  were 
nowhere  visible,  and  the  salt  storm  ceased.  Nothing- 
could  be  found  by  the  afflicted  father,  except  a  tress 
of  his  daughter's  hair — perhaps  her  chignon. 

The  old  chief  declared  that,  just  as  the  end  was 
approaching,  the  clouds  were  full  of  beautiful  colors, 
and  the  air  glittered  with  diamonds.  The  white 
man's  science,  however,  coldly  assumes  that  these 
appearances  were  only  the  rainbows  and  their  re- 
flections, playing  amidst  the  crystal  salt  shower. 

Sabbath  morning  dawned  upon  our  camp,  and  ac- 
cording to  our  usual  custom,  we  lay  by  for  the  day. 
At  ten  o'clock,  the  Professor  read  the  morning  serv- 
ice. It  must  have  been  a  strange  scene  that  we  pre- 
sented, w^hile  uncouth  teamsters  and  all — our  family- 
pew  the  wide  valley,  with  its  seats  of  stones,  and 


404  BUFFALO   LAND. 

logs — sat  listening  to  the  beautiful  language  that 
told  how  the  faith  of  which  Christianity  was  born 
was  cradled  in  a  land  as  primitive  and  desolate  as 
that  which  we  were  traversing.  There,  the  wild  Arab 
hordes  hovered  over  the  deserts;  here,  America's 
savage  tribes  do  the  same  over  the  plains. 

Our  priest  stood  near  one  of  Nature's  grandest 
altar  pieces,  "Waconda  Da."  Reverence  from  the 
most  irreverent  is  secured  among  such  scenes  and 
solitudes.  Away  from  his  fellows,  man's  soul  in- 
stinctively looks  upward,  and  yearns  for  some  power 
mightier  than  himself  to  which  to  cling.  The  brittle 
straw  of  Atheism  snaps  when  called  upon  for  sup- 
port under  these  circumstances,  and  the  blasphemy 
which  was  bold  and  loud  among  the  haunts  of  men, 
here  is  hushed  into  silence,  or  even  awed  into  rever- 
ential fear. 

The  Professor  improved  the  opportunity  to  deliver 
an  excellent  discourse  upon  the  wonderful  evidences 
of  God's  power  which  geology  is  daily  revealing. 
His  peroration  was  quite  flowery,  and  in  a  strain 
very  much  as  follows : 

"Science  is  yet  in  its  infancy,  and  many  things 
which  seem  dark  to  us  will  be  clear  to  our  de- 
scendants. Future  generations  will  doubtless  won- 
der at  our  boiler  explosions,  and  our  railroad  acci- 
dents. Lightning  expresses  will  be  used  only  for 
freight,  while  machines  navigating  the  air,  at  one 
hundred  miles  an  hour,  will  carry  the  passengers. 
Steam,  electricity,  and  the  magnetic  needle  have  all 
been  open  to  man's  appropriative  genius  ever  since 


sachem's  offering  to  the  lovers'  memory.  405 

the  world  offered  him  a  home,  and  yet  he  has  only 
just  now  comprehended  them.  The  future  will  see 
instruments  boring  thousands  of  feet  into  the  earth 
in  a  day,  and  developing  measures  and  mysteries 
which  the  world  is  not  now  ripe  for  understanding. 
Perhaps,  the  telescopes  of  another  century  may  bring 
our  descendants  face  to  face  with  the  life  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  and  give  us  glimpses  of  the  inhabit- 
ants at  their  daily  avocations.  Who  knows  but  that 
the  beings  who  people  other  worlds  in  the  infinite 
ocean  of  space  around  us,  compared  with  which  worlds 
our  little  planet  is  insignificant  indeed,  are  able,  by 
the  use  of  more  powerful  instruments  than  any  with 
which  we  are  acquainted,  to  hold  us  in  constant  re- 
view ?  Our  battles  they  may  look  upon  as  we  would 
the  conflicts  of  ants,  and  they  wonder,  perchance, 
why  so  quarrelsome  a  world  is  permitted  to  exist 
at  all." 

ISText  morning  Sachem  was  up  at  daybreak,  ex- 
amining the  spot  where  Hewgaw  and  Wa-bog-aha 
met  their  fate,  and  underwent  their  iridescent  an- 
nihilation. His  offering  to  their  memory  we  found 
after  breakfast,  tacked  up  in  a  prominent  position  be- 
side the  spring.  The  inscription,  evidently  intended 
as  a  sort  of  epitaph,  was  written  on  the  cover  of  a 
cracker-box,  and  struck  me  as  so  peculiar  that  I  was 
at  the  pains  of  transcribing  it  among  our  notes.  I 
give  it  to  the  reader  for  the  purpose,  principally,  of 
showing  the  unconquerable  antipathies  of  an  alder- 
man. 


406  BUFFALO   LAND. 


In  Memoeiam. 

Lot's  wife,  you  remember,  looked  back, 
(What  woman  could  ever  refrain?) 

And  instantly  stood  in  her  track 
A  pillar  of  salt  on  the  plain. 

If  all  were  thus  cursed  for  the  fault, 
Who  peep  when  forbidden  to  look, 

The  feminine  pillars  of  salt 

Could  never  be  written  in  book. 

Hewgaw  was  an  Indian  belle 

Which  no  one  could  ring — she  was  fickle; 
Some  scores  of  her  lovers  there  fell 

(Where  she  did  at  last)  in  a  pickle. 

Thus  salt  is  the  only  thing  known 

Entirely  certain  of  keeping 
Flesh  of  our  flesh,  bone  of  our  bone. 

Out  of  the  habit  of  peeping. 

Unless  the  tradition  has  lied, 

Our  maiden  may  claim,  with  good  reason, 
That  she  is  a  well-preserved  bride. 

And  certainly  bride  of  a  season. 

Wa-bog-aha  big  was  a  brave — 

The  Great  Spirit  salted  him  down : 

Braves  seldom  get  corned  in  the  grave, 
They  're  oftener  corned  in  the  town. 

My  rhyming,  you  find,  is  saline, 
Quite  brackish  its  toning  and  end ; 

The  moral — far  better  to  pine 

Than  wed  and  get  "  salted,"  my  friend. 


THE   FRONTIERSMAN   AT   BAY.  407 

Soon  after  sunrise  we  took  our  way  down  the 
river,  intending  to  reach  the  Sydney  farm  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  and  there  spend  the  necessary  time  in 
preparing  our  specimens  for  immediate  shipment 
when  we  should  arrive  at  Solomon  City.  The  Pro- 
fessor made  desperate  efforts  to  appear  entirely 
wrapped  up  in  science,  and  his  devotion  to  geology 
was  something  wonderful.  Hitherto  he  had  been 
inclined  to  urge  us  forward,  but  now  he  made  a  show 
of  holding  us  back.  Did  he  do  so  with  a  knowledge 
that  our  necessities  for  food  and  forage  would  be  suf- 
ficient spur,  and  was  he  simply  shielding  his  weak 
side  from  Sachem's  attacks  ? 

We  had  proceeded  but  a  few  miles  on  our  journey, 
when  the  guide  rode  back,  and  reported  fresh  pony 
tracks  across  the  road  ahead  of  us.  This  was  an  un- 
questionable Indian  sign,  but  as  the  trail  seemed  to 
be  leading  north,  we  took  no  precaution ;  our  route 
was  over  a  high  divide,  where  ambushing  was  im- 
possible. 

Approaching  Limestone  Creek,  the  road  wound 
down  the  face  of  a  precipitous  bluff,  into  the  valley 
below.  We  had  just  commenced  the  descent,  when 
the  now  familiar  cry  of  "  Injuns ! "  came  back  from 
the  men  in  front,  and  following  closely  on  the  cry  we 
heard  the  echoing  report  of  firearms.  We  looked  in 
the  direction  of  the  sound,  and  saw  close  to  the  trees 
an  emigrant  wagon,  while  beyond  it,  but  at  fully  one 
hundred  yards'  distance,  four  or  five  Indians  were 
riding  back  and  forth  in  semi-circles,  and  firing  pis- 
tols. The  emigrant  stood  beside  his  oxen,  with  rifle 
in  readiness,  but  apparently  reserving  his  fire. 


408  BUFFALO   LAND. 

"  That  man  knows  his  biz !  "  exclaimed  our  guide. 
as  he  urged  the  teams  forward,  that  we  might  aiford 
rescue.    "  Injuns  never  bump  up  agin  a  loaded  gun." 

A  gleam  of  calico  was  visible  in  the  wagon,  and 
another  rifle  barrel,  held  by  female  hands,  seemed 
peering  out  in  front.  The  general  aspect  of  the  as- 
sailed outfit  reminded  us  strongly  of  the  Sydney 
family,  and  suspicion  was  strengthened  by  a  very  un- 
scientific yell  from  the  Professor,  as  he  started  oif  at 
break-neck  speed  down  the  bluif  for  a  rescue,  with  no 
other  weapon  whatever  in  his  hand  than  a  small 
hammer  he  had  just  been  using  for  breaking  stones. 
Mr.  Colon  seemed  equally  demented,  following  close 
upon  Paleozoic's  heels  with  a  bug-net.  Shamus,  at 
the  moment,  happened  to  be  astride  his  donkey,  and 
giving  an  Irish  war-whoop  which  reached  even  to  the 
scene  of  combat,  straightway  charged  over  the  lime- 
stone ledges  in  a  cloud  of  white  dust.  Our  appear- 
ance upon  the  scene  was  a  surprise  to  Lo.  The 
Indians  stood  not  upon  the  order  of  their  going,  but 
"lit  out  on  the  double-quick,"  as  our  guide  expressed 
it,  and  were  soon  out  of  sight. 

We  found  that  the  emigrants  were  named  Burns, 
the  family  comprising  the  parents  and  their  two  chil- 
dren. The  man  stated  that  he  had  no  fear  of  the 
savages.  He  had  been  twice  across  the  plains,  and 
made  it  a  rule  never  to  throw  a  shot  away.  "  If  they 
can  draw  your  fire,"  said  he,  "the  fellows  will  charge. 
But  they  do  n't  want  to  look  into  a  loaded  gun." 
Mrs.  Burns  had  come  to  her  husband's  rescue  with 
an  expedient  worthy  the  wife  of  a  frontiersman. 
Having  no  gun,  she  pointed  from  under  the  canvass 


A   HERD   OF   ELK   AHEAD.  409 

the  handle  of  a  broom.  This,  being  woman's  favorite 
weapon,  was  handled  so  skillfully  that  the  savages 
imagined  it  another  rifle.  In  our  log-book  she  was 
chronicled  at  once  as  fully  the  equal  of  that  revolu- 
tionary hero,  who  one  evening  made  prisoner  of  a 
British  officer,  by  crooking  an  American  sausage 
into  the  semblance  of  a  pistol,  and  presenting  it  at 
the  Englishman's  breast. 

There  were  two  of  our  party  who  did  not  rejoice  as 
they  should  have  done,  after  rendering  such  timely 
aid  to  the  Burns  family.  How  romantic  had  the  res- 
cued party  only  proved  to  be  the  one  which  was  at 
first  suspected ! 

Where  this  little  scene  occurred,  there  are  home- 
steads now,  which  will  soon  develop  into  thrifty 
farms.  The  blessing  of  a  railroad  can  not  be  long 
deferred.  A  year,  a  month,  even  a  week  sometimes, 
makes  wonderful  changes  in  Buffalo  Land,  when  the 
tide  of  immigration  is  rolling  forward  upon  it.  Be- 
fore the  present  year  is  ended,  the  beautiful  valley  of 
Limestone  Creek  will  be  teeming  with  civilized  life, 
and  the  savage  red  man,  there  is  good  reason  to  be- 
lieve, has  departed  from  it  forever. 

After  bidding  the  Burns  family  good-bye,  we 
traveled  without  further  adventure  until  near  noon, 
w^hen  the  guide  rode  back,  and  directed  our  attention 
to  some  elk,  which  he  pointed  out,  some  distance 
ahead.  The  bodies  of  the  herd  were  hidden  by  a 
ridge,  but  above  its  brown  line  we  could  plainly 
see  their  great  antlers,  looking  like  the  branches  of 
trees,  moving  slowly  along.  There  was  but  one 
method  of  getting  near  the  game,  and  that  was  im- 


410  BUFFALO   LAND. 

mediately  adopted.  Up  the  side  of  the  sloping  ridge 
we  carefully  crawled,  and,  reaching  the  summit, 
peeped  over.  Half  a  dozen  big  antlered  fellows,  and 
as  many  does,  were  feeding  along  the  slope  below. 
Only  one  of  them,  a  splendid  male,  was  within  shoot- 
ing distance  at  all,  and  even  for  it  the  range  was 
long.  The  guide  and  Muggs  fired  together,  breaking 
the  poor  creature's  shoulder. 

What  a  startled  stare  the  noble  animals  flashed 
back  at  the  crack  of  the  rifles,  and  how  quickly  they 
disappeared.  Their  trot  was  perfectly  grand — great, 
firm  strokes  which  seemed  to  fairly  fling  the  bodies 
onward.  We  had  hardly  time  to  realize  having 
fired,  when  their  tails  bade  us  distant  adieu.  It  is 
said  that  no  horse  can  keep  up  with  the  trot  of  the 
elk.  If  charged  upon  suddenly,  however,  from  close 
quarters,  he  is  frightened  into  an  awkward  gallop, 
and  may  then  be  overtaken  easily. 

Our  wounded  game  looked  formidable,  and  we 
approached  cautiously.  He  made  several  efforts  to 
run,  but  each  time  fell  forward,  in  plunging  slides,  on 
his  nose  and  side,  rubbing  the  hair  from  the  latter, 
and  daubing  the  ground  with  blood  from  his  nostrils. 
Muggs  felt  free  to  confess  that  even  the  pampered 
stags  of  England,  when  perilously  roused  from  their 
well-kept  glens,  by  over-fed  hunters  in  killing  coats 
and  boots,  never  presented  such  a  picture  of  wild 
beauty  and  agony,  colored  just  the  least  bit  with 
danger.  At  this  "  kill "  we  lost  our  black  hound. 
Tempted  to  incaution  by  the  sight  of  the  noble  elk 
standing  wounded  and  at  bay,  or  else  excited  by  its 
blood,  the  dog  sprang  forward.    A  chance  blow  of  the 


TURKEY  HUNTING  ON  A  NEW  PLAN.     411 

massive  horns  knocked  him  over,  and  in  an  instant 
more  the  beast  had  stamped  him  to  death. 

We  finished  the  elk  by  a  united  volley,  and 
added  him  to  our  trophies.  The  horns,  resting  upon 
their  tips,  gave  space  for  one  of  our  Mexicans,  five 
feet  two  in  stature,  to  pass  beneath  them  erect.  Elk 
hairs  are  remarkably  elastic.  Single  ones  obtained 
from  this  specimen  stretched  by  trial  with  the  fingers, 
and  detached  from  the  skin  so  easily  that  the  latter 
seemed  worthless. 

During  the  day  we  found  and  secured  the  remains 
of  two  saurians — one  about  eight  and  the  other  ten 
feet  in  length,  and  also  the  tooth  of  a  fossil  horse, 
quite  a  number  of  curious  bubble-shaped  pieces  of 
iron  pyrites,  and  some  fine  petrifactions,  in  the  way 
of  butternuts  and  fragments  of  trees.  The  soft,  white 
limestone,  mentioned  more  than  once  before  in  this 
record  of  our  expedition,  appeared  along  our  paths 
in  fine  outcrops,  and  contained  very  perfect  fossil 
shells. 

Abe,  our  guide,  told  us  that  a  year  or  two  pre- 
vious, during  a  winter  of  unusual  severity,  he  had 
found  a  flock  of  Rocky  Mountain  sheep  feeding  near 
the  Solomon.  This  was  the  only  instance  which 
came  to  our  knowledge  of  that  animal  having  been 
seen  upon  the  plains. 

We  had  an  amusing  experience,  before  night,  with 
turkeys,  hunting  them  in  novel  style.  The  birds 
w^ere  wild  from  recent  pursuit,  and,  the  instant  they 
saw  us,  would  leave  the  narrow  fringe  of  timber,  and 
run  oif  into  the  ravines.  Then  would  commence  a 
ludicrous  chase,   each  rider  plying  spurs,  and  pur- 


412  BUFFALO    LAND. 

suing.  There  went  Sachem,  on  his  long-legged  pur- 
chase, the  beast  staggering  and  stumbling  through 
ravines;  and  Semi  also,  upon  Cynocephalus,  whose 
abbreviated  tail  was  hoisted  straight  in  air,  while  at 
the  other  extremity  his  nose  stretched  well  out  and 
took  in  air  under  asthmatic  protests.  Rearward  was 
the  Mexican  donkey,  arguing  the  point  with  Dobeen 
whether  or  not  to  enter  the  race.  Ahead  of  all  went 
the  wild  turkeys,  running  like  ostriches.  The  bird 
is  a  heavy  one,  and  its  short  flights  and  runs,  there- 
fore, though  rapid,  can  not  be  long  continued.  Seeing 
the  pursuit  gaining,  it  would  turn  to  the  woods  again 
for  protection.  Other  riders  would  there  head  it  off, 
and  soon,  completely  exhausted  and  only  able  to  stag- 
ger along,  it  was  easily  taken.  In  this  manner,  we 
obtained  over  twenty  turkeys  while  passing  along 
the  river. 

That  evening  we  reached  the  little  settlement  on 
the  Solomon,  which  was  the  Canaan  of  all  our 
wanderings  to  certain  members  of  our  party,  and 
went  into  camp  among  the  Sydneys  and  their 
neighbors.  Our  welcome  was  a  warm  one,  and  it 
took  Shamus  but  a  few  moments  to  find  our  friend's 
kitchen,  where  he  at  once  installed  himself  in  the 
dual  capacity  of  lover  and  assistant  cook,  discharging 
the  duties  of  each  position  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  all  concerned.  Our  supper  with  the  Sydney 
family  seemed  like  civilization  again,  notwithstand- 
ins:  that  we  were  still  on  the  uttermost  bounds  of 
civilized  manners  and  customs.  The  Professor,  sit- 
ting next  to  Miss  Flora,  was  the  very  picture  of 
happiness,  and  "  all  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell." 


PKAIRIE  CHICKENS. 


BEAVER. 

MORE  OF  OUR  SPECIMENS— PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  J.  LEE  KNIGHT,  TOPEKA,  KANS. 


TENACIOUS   GRIPE  AGAIN.  415 

Even  Sachem  ceased  to  sulk  before  the  meal  was 
ended. 

At  dusk,  as  we  were  assuring  ourselves  by  personal 
inspection  that  the  camp  was  in  proper  order,  a  fa- 
miliar form  came  stalking  toward  us  in  the  gathering 
gloom.  "Tenacious  Gripe!"  cried  the  Professor; 
and  so  it  was.  Our  friend's  ribs  had  been  repaired, 
and  he  was  now  on  a  mission  along  the  Solomon 
river,  holding  railroad  meetings  in  the  different 
counties.  The  progressive  westerner,  when  he  has 
nothing  else  to  do,  is  in  the  habit  of  starting  out  on  a 
tour  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  the  dear  people  to 
vote  county  bonds  for  a  new  railroad,  and  such  a 
westerner  was  Gripe. 


CHAPTER   XXIX, 

OUB    LAST    NIGHT   TOGETHER — THE  REMARKABLE    SHED-TAIL    DOG — HE   ilMaCUii3  JlW 
MISTRSSS,   AND  BREAKS  UP  A    MEETING — A    SKETCH  OP    TERRITORIAL   TIMES   BY 

GRIPE — Montgomery's  expedition  for  the  rescue  op  john  brown's  com- 
panions— scalped,  and  CARVING  HIS  OWN  EPITAPH — AN  IRISH  JACOB — 
"SURVIVAL  OP  THE  FITTEST" — SACHEM's  POETICAL  LETTER — POPPING  THB 
QUESTION  ON  THB  RUN — THB  PROFESSOR'S  LETTER. 

SUPPER  over,  we  made  an  engagement  with  our 
hospitable  friends  for  their  presence  at  a  sort  of 
'* state  dinner"  we  proposed  giving  the  next  day, 
and  then  returned  to  our  own  camp.  A  number  of 
the  settlers  soon  came  strolling  in,  and  among  them 
one  bringing  a  most  remarkable  dog,  of  the  "  shed- 
tail  "  variety.  The  animal  was  well  known  to  fame 
in  that  section,  for  having  attacked  some  Indians  who 
had  taken  his  mistress  captive  and  were  endeavor- 
ing to  place  her  upon  one  of  their  ponies,  and  so  de- 
laying them  that  the  neighbors  were  able  to  arrive 
and  give  rescue.  It  was  claimed  that  thirty  shots 
were  fired  at  him  without  effect,  which,  if  true, 
proved  that  either  those  Indians  were  exceedingly 
bad  marksmen,  or  that  the  small  fraction  of  caudal 
appendage  which  the  beast  possessed  acted  as  a 
protective  talisman. 

(416) 


m   THE   WRONG,   LATTERLY.  417 

We  had  often  seen  dogs  without  tails,  but  previous 
to  this  had  always  supposed  that  a  depraved  human 
taste,  not  nature,  was  at  the  root  of  it.  Tail- 
wagging  we  had  considered  as  much  the  born  pre- 
rogative of  a  dog  as  a  laugh  is  that  of  man.  It  is 
true  some  men  do  not  laugh,  but  the  child  did.  A 
dog's  tail  embodies  his  laughing  faculty,  or  rather 
one  might  call  it  a  canine  thermometer.  It  rises  and 
falls  with  his  feelings,  in  moments  of  depression  go- 
ing down  to  zero  between  his  legs,  and  again  rising 
when  the  canine  temperature  becomes  more  even. 

"That  thar  dorg,  stranger,  is  of  the  shed-tail 
variety,"  said  its  owner,  when  we  solicited  infor- 
mation. "  Whole  litter  had  nothin'  but  stumps. 
Killed  most  on  'em  oif,  'cause,  havin'  nothin'  to  wag, 
visitin'  people  could  n't  tell  whether  they  was  goin' 
to  bite,  or  be  pleased.  Some  time  ago,  a  travelin' 
school-teacher  giv'  him  a  plaguy  Latin  name,  but  we 
call  him  Shed,  for  short.  He  knows,  just  as  well  as 
you  and  I,  that  he  's  in  the  wrong,  latterly,  and  as 
soon  as  you  look  at  him,  or  touch  where  the  tail 
ought  ter  be,  he  hides  and  howls.  He  's  sensitive  as 
a  human." 

Saying  this,  our  new  acquaintance  leaned  over  the 
dog,  which  was  lying  asleep,  and  gave  the  animal 
what  he  called  a  "  latterly  touch."  Although  it  was 
but  the  gentle  contact  of  a  finger  tip,  the  poor 
creature  jumped  up,  uttered  a  dismal  howl,  and  fled 
off  among  the  wagons. 

"  That  dorg,"  continued  the  owner,  "  would  be  one 

of  the  best  critters  out,  if  it  was  n't  for  his  short  cut. 
23 


418  BUFFALO   LAND. 

He  '11  fight  Injuns,  or  wild  cats,  and  take  any  amount 
of  blows  on  his  head,  if  they  '11  only  avoid  his  mis- 
fortin.' " 

We  remarked  that  he  seemed  to  have  been  shot 
in  the  side,  some  time. 

"Yes,  got  a  whole  charge  of  quail  shot  slapped 
inter  him.  You  see  the  way  it  was,  wer  this.  Most 
every  section  has  one  or  two  scraggy,  rattle -brained 
fellers,  allers  loungin'  round,  takin'  free  drinks,  and 
starvin'  ther  families.  Whar  w^e  come  from  was 
one  of  this  sort,  never  of  no  account  to  no  one.  We 
had  a  temperance  meetin'  one  day,  and  this  Hib,  as 
they  called  him,  wer  opposed  to  it.  He  was  afraid 
they  'd  shut  up  Old  Bung's  whisky  shed.  Well,  we 
was  all  a  gathered,  listenin'  to  the  serpent  and  its 
poisoned  sting,  and  that  sort  o'  thing,  and  had  about 
concluded  to  go  for  Old  Bung,  when  that  contrairy, 
ornery  Hib  broke  us  up.  He  goes  and  gets  ^ a  fresh 
coon  skin,  and  sneaks  all  round  the  school-house, 
draggin'  it  arter  him,  and  makin'  a  sort  o'  scented 
circle.  Then  he  goes  and  gets  Shed  Tail  there, 
who  was  powerful  on  coons,  and  sets  him  on  that 
thar  track.  Shed  give  just  one  sniff,  and  ojDened 
right  out.  The  way  he  shied  round  that  school- 
house  wer  a  sin.  In  five  minutes,  all  the  dogs  of  the 
village  were  at  his  heels,  and  goin'  round  that  circle 
like  the  spokes  in  a  wheel. 

"  It  was  just  a  round  ring  of  the  loudest  yelling 
you  ever  heard.  Every  dog  thought  the  one  just 
ahead  of  him  had  the  coon.  All  the  meetin'  folks 
come  a  pourin'  out,  with  sticks  and  chairs,  and  what 
svith  beatin'  and  coaxin'  they  got  all  off  the  trail  but 


Montgomery's  expedition.  419 

old  Shed.  Half  the  people  went  to  chasin'  that 
dorg,  while  the  balance  held  onto  the  others.  But 
Shed  just  stuck  to  that  coon  track,  like  all  possessed, 
dodgin'  atween  our  legs,  or  sheerin'  oif,  and  catchin' 
ther  trail  agin  just  beyond.  He  finally  upset  Old 
Squire  Bundy's  wife,  and  the  Squire  got  mad,  and 
slapped  some  No.  7  into  his  ribs." 

The  shed-taiFs  owner,  waxing  more  and  more  elo- 
quent with  his  subject,  had  just  commenced  the 
narrative  of  another  Indian  battle  in  which  his 
favorite  had  figured,  when  we  became  interested  in  a 
wordy  political  combat  between  Tenacious  Gripe  and 
a  genuine  specimen  of  the  "reconstructed,"  the  first 
and  only  one  of  that  genus  that  we  saw  in  Kansas. 
His  clothes  had  the  famous  butternut  dye,  and  his 
shirt  bosom  was  mapped  into  numerous  creeks  and 
rivers  by  the  brown  stains  of  tobacco  overflows. 
The  dispute  waxed  warm,  and  grew  more  and  more 
prolific  of  eloquence.  At  length,  the  reconstructed 
beat  a  retreat,  and  our  orator  was  left  in  triumphant 
possession  of  the  field. 

Drawing  fresh  inspiration  from  his  success,  Gripe 
devoted  another  hour  to  an  account  of  the  early 
struggles  in  Kansas  against  these  "mean  whites." 
He  gave  us  many  vivid  descriptions  of  the  time 
when  men  died  that  their  children  might  live. 
Among  other  relations  was  that  of  the  expedition 
under  Montgomery,  to  rescue  the  two  companions  of 
old  John  Brown  from  the  prison  at  Charlestown, 
Virginia,  a  short  time  after  the  stern  hero  himself 
had  there  been  hung. 

The  dozen  of  brave  Kansas  men  interested  in  the 


420  BUFFALO   LAND. 

enterprise  reached  Harrisburg,  with  their  rifles  taken 
apart  and  packed  in  a  chest,  and  sent  scouts  into 
Virginia  and  Maryland.  It  was  the  middle  of 
winter,  and  deep  snow  covered  the  ground.  They  in- 
tended, when  passing  among  the  mountains,  to  bear 
the  character  of  a  hunting  party.  Every  member  of 
that  little  band  was  willing  to  push  on  to  Charles- 
town,  notwithstanding  the  whole  State  of  Virginia 
was  on  the  alert,  and  pickets  were  thrown  out  as  far 
even  as  Hagerstown,  Maryland.  The  plan  was,  by  a 
bold  dash  to  capture  the  jail,  and  then,  with  the 
rescued  men,  make  rapidly  for  the  seaboard.  Al- 
though the  expedition  failed,  it  gave  the  world  a 
glimpse  of  that  heroic  western  spirit  which  was  not 
only  willing  to  do  battle  upon  its  own  soil,  but  con- 
tent to  turn  back  and  meet  Death  half-way  when 
comrades  were  in  danger. 

Gripe  did  not  accompany  the  expedition.  Yet  he 
grew  so  eloquent  over  the  deep  snow  that  stretched 
drearily  before  the  little  band,  the  gloomy  mountains 
which  frowned  down  defiance,  and  the  people,  far 
more  inhospitable  than  either,  who  stood  behind  the 
natural  barriers,  filled  to  fanaticism  with  suspicion, 
fear,  and  hate,  that  we  were  sorry  he  had  not  been 
of  the  party.  A  man  of  such  congressional  qualifi- 
cations as  were  his,  might  have  been  able  to  steal 
even  the  prisoners. 

On  other  matters  of  Kansas  history.  Gripe  could 
speak  from  personal  experience.  He  had  twice  en- 
tered the  territory  during  the  period  when  the  Free 
State  and  pro-slavery  forces  were  doing  battle  for  it. 
In   one  instance,    the  journey  had  been  overland 


SALT-WATEK   COFFEE.  421 

♦ 

through  Missouri,  and  in  the  other,  up  the  Missouri 
River.  On  the  first  occasion,  he  had  suffered 
numberless  indignities  at  the  hands  of  border  ruf- 
fians, and  would  have  been  killed,  had  there  been 
any  thing  in  the  least  degree  stronger  than  suspicion 
for  them  to  act  upon.  On  the  other  trip,  the  steam- 
boat was  stopped  at  Lexington,  and  a  pro-slavery 
mob  boarded  the  vessel,  and  searched  for  arms.  The 
whole  fabric  of  Kansas  material  which  Gripe  wove 
for  us  that  evening  was  figured  all  over  with  battles, 
and  murders,  and  tar-and-feather  diversions.  Had 
we  been  writing  a  history  of  the  State,  we  might 
have  accumulated  a  fair  share  of  the  material  then 
and  there. 

Another  subject  this  evening  discussed  around  our 
camp-fire  was  the  future  of  the  vast  plains  which  we 
had  been  traversing.  Two  or  three  of  the  settlers 
were  ranchemen,  who  had  lived  in  this  region  for 
many  years.  They  were  very  enthusiastic  about  the 
section  of  their  adoption,  and  affirmed  stoutly  that 
within  fifteen  years  the  whole  tract  would  be  under 
cultivation. 

I  can  answer  for  our  whole  party  that,  beyond  a 
doubt,  the  climate  is  healthy  and  the  soil  rich.  For 
the  first  one  hundred  miles,  after  reaching  the 
eastern  boundary  of  the  plains,  springs  and  pure 
streams  abound.  Further  west,  the  water  supply  is 
not  so  plentiful.  On  only  one  occasion,  however,  did 
we  suffer  any  inconvenience  from  this,  and  that 
was  upon  the  very  headwaters  of  the  Saline.  Going 
into  camp  late,  coffee  was  hastily  prepared,  and  the 
quality  of  the  water  not  noticed.     It  proved  to  be 


422  BUFFALO  LAND. 

quite  salty,  and  as  we  drank  liberally  of  the  coffee, 
and  were  unable  afterward  to  find  a  spring,  our  suf- 
ferings before  morning  amounted  to  positive  torture. 
Each  one  of  the  party  found  that  his  lungs  were 
benefited  by  our  sojourn  on  the  plains.  I  believe 
that  a  consumptive  could  find  decidedly  more  relief 
in  Buffalo  Land  than  among  the  mountains  further 
west. 

During  the  evening,  we  added  considerably  to  our 
already  very  full  notes  concerning  the  wild  tribes  of 
the  western  plains.  So  many  are  the  "true  tales  of 
the  border  "  which  one  can  hear  in  a  few  months  of 
such  journeyings  as  ours,  that  the  recital  of  even  a 
tithe  of  the  number  would  become  tiresome.  The  red- 
bearded  owner  of  "  Shed-tail  "  added  to  our  store,  by 
relating  an  adventure  which  he  claimed  had  oc- 
curred to  himself  and  Buffalo  Bill,  when  they  were 
teamsters  together  in  an  overland  train.  It  was  to 
the  effect  that  while  riding  ahead  of  the  wagons,  to 
find  a  crossing  over  the  Sandy,  they  discovered 
the  skeleton  of  a  man  lying  at  the  foot  of  a  cotton- 
wood  tree.  As  they  dismounted  for  the  purpose  of 
finding  some  means,  if  possible,  of  identifying  the 
remains,  their  attention  was  caught  by  letters  cut  in 
the  bark.  These  they  deciphered  sufficiently  to  see 
that  it  had  been  an  attempt  by  some  weak  hand  to 
carve  a  name.  A  broken  knife,  lying  near  the  bones, 
told  plainly  enough  who  the  worker  at  the  epitaph 
had  been,  and  other  signs  revealed  to  the  frontiers- 
men the  whole  death  history.  The  man  had  been 
assailed  by  savages,  scalped,  and  left  as  dead.  The 
work  of  the  knife  showed  that  he  must  have  re- 


LO'S  ESPECIAL   FORTE.  423 

co^'ered  sufficiently  to  crawl  to  the  tree,  and  there 
naake  a  faint  effort  to  leave  some  record  of  his  name 
and  fate.  The  straggling  gashes  indicated  that  he 
had  continued  the  task  even  vi^hile  death  was  blind- 
ing his  eyes.  A  few  more  drops  of  blood,  and  per- 
haps the  mystery  of  years,  now  shrouding  the 
history  of  some  family  hearth-stone,  would  have 
been  cleared  away. 

We  had  no  opportunity  of  verifying  this  story  of 
red  beard's,  but  as  no  occasion  existed  for  telling  a 
lie,  and  the  neighbors  of  the  narrator  there  present 
seemed  much  interested  in  the  account,  we  accepted 
it  as  truth.  It  was  apparently  no  attempt  to  impose 
upon  the  strangers.  But  I  would  here  state,  as  a 
specimen  feature  of  the  frontier  experience  of  all  trav- 
elers, that  whenever,  at  any  of  our  camps,  surrounding 
ranchemen  or  hunters  discovered  any  member  of  our 
party  taking  notes,  there  were  straightway  spun  out 
the  toughest  yarns  which  ever  hung  a  tale  and 
throttled  truth. 

Of  one  fact  our  journey  thoroughly  convinced  us. 
Lo's  forte  has  no  connection  with  the  fort  of  the 
pale-faces.  An  unguarded  hunter,  or  a  defenseless 
emigrant  wagon,  or  unarmed  railroad  laborer,  grati- 
fies sufficiently  his  most  warlike  ambition.  The 
savages  of  the  plains,  in  their  attacks  upon  the 
whites,  have  been  like  bees,  stinging  whenever  op- 
portunity offers,  and  immediately  disappearing  in 
space.  Their  excuses  for  the  murders  they  commit 
have  been  as  various  as  their  moods.  At  one  time 
it  is  a  broken  treaty,  at  another  the  killing  of  their 
buffalo,  and  trespassing  upon  the  hunting-grounds, 


424  BUFFALO   LAND. 

and  again  it  is  some  other  grievance.  It  may  be  some 
gratification  for  them  to  know  that  it  is  estimated 
that,  until  within  the  last  three  years,  a  white  man's 
scalp  atoned  for  each  buffalo  killed  by  his  race. 

In  our  various  wars  with  the  Indians,  it  is  worth v 
of  remark  the  bison  have  been  like  supply  posts  at 
convenient  distances,  to  the  hostile  bands.  Traveling 
without  any  supplies  whatever,  and  therefore  rapidly, 
a  few  moments  suffice  to  kill  a  buffalo  near  the  camp- 
ing spot,  and  roast  his  flesh  over  the  chips.  The 
pony,  meanwhile,  makes  a  hearty  meal  on  the  grass. 
On  the  other  hand,  our  troops,  in  pursuit  of  these 
bands,  have  had  to  encumber  themselves  with  bag- 
gage wagons,  or  pack-mules^  bearing  food  and  forage. 

Among  our  notes,  I  find  recorded  many  incidents 
illustrative  of  the  aptitude  which  the  savage  mind 
possesses  for  dissimulation.  For  instance,  in  our 
council  at  Hays  City,  White  Wolf  could  apparently 
understand  only  our  sign  language ;  yet  when  the  in- 
terpreter advised  the  Professor,  in  good  English,  not 
to  accept  the  little  Mexican  burro,  unless  content  to 
return  its  weight  in  something  much  more  A'aluable 
than  jackass  meat,  the  chief  could  not  refrain  from 
smiling.  As  Indians  are  not  given  to  facial  reve- 
lations, the  colloquy  must  have  struck  him  as  very 
apropos  and  very  amusing.  We  concluded  then  and 
there,  that  it  was  unsafe  to  talk  Indian  sign  with  the 
savages  for  effect,  and  meanwhile  express  our  real 
sentiments  to  each  other  in  English ;  and  upon  this 
opinion  we  habitually  acted  thereafter. 

This  was  our  last  night  together  as  a  party.  The 
Professor  had  signified  his  intention  of  remaining  a 


FAREWELL   TO   THE    PLAINS.  425 

few  days  longer  upon  the  Solomon,  for  the  purpose 
of  studying  the  surrounding  country.  Shamus  had 
asked  a  discharge,  in  order  to  engage  as  farm  hand 
for  Mr.  Sydney — an  Irish  Jacob  taking  to  agriculture 
as  a  means  of  obtaining  his  Rachel.  We  received 
numerous  invitations  to  divide  our  party  for  the 
night  among  the  settlers,  and,  glad  to  enjoy  again 
the  luxury  of  a  roof,  Sachem  and  I  gratefully  ac- 
cepted the  hospitabilities  of  a  neighboring  log-cabin 
among  the  trees. 

The  next  day  was  busily  occupied  in  separating 
from  our  loads  such  things  as  the  Professor  and  Sha- 
mus required  for  their  further  sojourn  in  the  Solomon 
valley.  The  morning  following,  we  bade  them  both 
good-bye,  and  have  seen  neither  leader  or  servant 
since.  With  but  one  mishap,  the  remainder  of  our 
party  reached  safely  the  more  familiar  haunts  of 
civilization.  Doctor  Pythagoras  was  the  victim  of 
our  exceptional  misfortune.  While  attempting  to 
mount  his  transformed  prize-fighter,  the  meta- 
morphosed bully  struck  out  from  the  shoulder,  and 
the  doctor  was  floored.  We  found  it  necessary  to 
carry  him  upon  a  rude  stretcher  to  Solomon  City, 
and  provide  him  w^ith  a  section  on  a  sleeping  carYor 
transit  to  the  East.  As  we  shook  his  hand  at  part- 
ing, and  bade  him  a  last  good-bye,  he  exclaimed, 
"  My  young  friends,  I  can  not  die  yet.  I  shall  re- 
cover and  outlive  you  all.  I  believe  in  the  theory  of 
the  '  survival  of  the  fittest.'  " 

Ever  since  our  return,  the  tide  of  emigration,  pour- 
ing onward  from  the  Atlantic,  has  lapped  further 
and  further  out  upon  the  surface  of  the  plains ;  and 


426  BUFFALO   LAND. 

still,  as  truly  now  as  when  good  old  Bishop  Berkeley 
first  wrote  the  line,  "the  Star  of  Empire  westward 
takes  its  way." 

While  I  was  preparing  these  notes  for  the  press,  I 
received  the  following  characteris'tic  letter  from  Sa- 
chem, dated  at  his  haunt  in  New  York.  It  was  at 
first  a  puzzle,  but  I  found  the  key  in  a  note  inclosed 
by  him,  which  he  had  lately  received  from  the  Pro- 
fessor. 

sachem's   letter. 

To  crack  a  head  and  break  a  heart, 

Are  known  as  Paddy's  forte; 
In  kitchen,  jail,  or  low-back  cart — 

No  matter  where — he  '11  court. 

To  don  a  rig,  and  dance  a  jig, 

Attend  a  wake  or  wedding, 
He  '11  sell  his  own  or  neighbor's  pig 
And  only  rag  of  bedding. 

He  lives  a  happy,  careless  life. 

Hand  to  mouth,  and  heart  in  hand ; 

Ready  for  either  love  or  strife. 
Building  castles  on  the  sand. 

With  peck  of  trouble  ever  full, 

Good  measure,  running  over. 
He  deals  in  stock — the  Irish  bull. 

And  with  it,  lives  in  clover. 

Love's  labor  is  the  only  taste 

That  Paddy's  mind  inherits  : 
He  thinks,  where  maidens  run  to  waste, 

The  harem  has  its  merits. 


THE   professor's    LETTER.  427 

And  so  Dobeen,  upon  his  course, 

Love's  gallop  quick  began ; 
The  gal  up  on  the  other  horse, 

He  courted,  as  they  ran. 

The  bows  around  the  maid  were  more 

Than  suited  to  her  mind; 
Cupid  and  Sharaus  rode  before, 

The  savage  rode  behind. 

They  each  pursued  the  maiden  coy, 

Two  wooed  her  a  la  bow; 
The  arrow  tips  of  one  were  joy, 

The  other's  tips  were  woe, 

'T  is  said  that  Shamus  won  the  race. 

And  saved  his  hair  and  bacon : 
If  Mary  loved  his  wooing  pace, 

His  heart  may  stop  its  achin'. 

And  this  was  the  Professor's  letter,  which  had 
evidently  set  the  aldermanic  machine  to  grinding 
doggerel  again: 


"  On  the  Solomon,  | 

LiNDSEY,  Ottawa  County,  Kansas,  j 

.  .  .  .  "  I  have  run  down  here  after  my  mail. 
Am  progressing  finely  with  my  studies.  Shamus  had 
an  adventure  yesterday.  Mary  and  he  rode  over  on 
horseback  to  a  neighbor's,  a  mile  away,  and  on  the 
return  were  pursued  by  an  Indian.  Hard  riding 
brought  them  in  safely.  Mary  tells  her  mistress 
that,  during  the  terrors  of  the  chase,  Shamus  would 


428  BUFFALO   LAND. 

not  refrain  from  courting.     He  lashed  her  horse,  and 
spurred  his,  and  popped  the  question,  alternately. 

"I  shall  probably  remain  here  a  month  or  so 
longer,  as  I  am  much  interested  in  the  Flora  of  the 
Solomon  Valley." 

The  italicized  word  in  the  last  sentence  is  under- 
scored, and  its  initial  letter  bears  evidence  of  hav- 
ing been  maliciously  transformed  into  a  capital 
by  Sachem, 


THE  END. 


APPENDIX 


PRELIMINAKY  TO  THE  APPENDIX, 


fTlHE  officials  of  the  new  States  and  Territories  are  con- 
stantly  overwhelmed  with  letters  of  inquiry  from  all  parts 
of  our  own  country  and  the  Canadas,  and  even  from  Europe. 
Some  of  the  writers  wish  particulars  concerning  the  opportuni- 
ties that  exist  for  obtaining  homes ;  others  seek  information  as 
to  the  best  points  for  hunting ;  while  what  to  bring  with  them, 
in  the  way  of  household  goods,  and  farming  implements,  or 
guns,  dogs,  etc.,  is  the  common  auestion  of  nearly  all. 

While  engaged  in  preparing  "  Buffalo  Land ''  for  the  press, 
I  published  in  a  newspaper  at  Topeka  a  brief  summary  of  the 
information  then  at  my  command  upon  the  subjects  above 
named.  The  result  was  the  receipt  of  a  large  number  of  letters, 
asking  for  all  sorts  of  details,  many  of  which  I  found  it  im- 
possible to  answer  through  the  mail.  This  fact,  added  to  the 
requests  of  various  public  officers,  whom  I  take  pleasure  in 
thus  obliging,  has  induced  me  to  attach  an  appendix  to  the 
present  volume,  containing  a  condensed  statement  of  such 
matters  (not  elsewhere  described  in  this  work)  as  will  assist 
parties  westward  bound,  whether  emigrants,  sportsmen,  or 
tourists. 

(431) 


432  PRELIMINARY  TO   THE   APPENDIX. 

The  Appendix  which  follows  is  divided  into  three  chapters. 
The  first  of  these  embodies  information  of  especial  interest  to 
the  immense  army  of  home-seekers  who,  from  every  quarter, 
are  turning  their  eyes  eagerly  and  hopefully  toward  the  free 
and  boundless  West.  The  second  chapter  is  designed  for  the 
use  of  the  sportsman,  and  the  third  furnishes  very  valuable 
and  instructive  details  concerning  the  topography,  resources, 
climate,  etc.,  of  the  plains,  and,  more  particularly,  a  de- 
scription of  the  larger  streams,  with  their  contiguous  val- 
leys, which  drain  the  vast  area  included  within  the  limits  of 
Buffalo  Land.  W.  E.  W. 


A.PPElN"r>IX. 


CHAPTER  FIRST. 


FURTHER  INFORMATION  FOE  THE  HOME-SEEKER 


24 


APPEH^DIX. 


CONTENTS  OF  CHAPTER  FIRST. 

PAOB 

Comb  to  the  Great  West, 435 

Should  there  not  be  Compulsory  Emigration, 436 

"Get  a  Good  Ready," 437 

Homestead  Laws  and  Regulations        ..••»,.  438 

The  State  op  Kansas, *    .        .  447 

The  Cost  op  a  Farm, 448 

A  PKw  MORE  Practical  Suggestions,      ..••,,.  449 


appe:^dix. 


I 


CHAPTER  FIRST. 

FURTHER  INFORJ^IATION  FOR  THE  HOME-SEEKER, 

COME  TO  THE  GREAT  WEST  I 

npHE  Western  States  and  Territories  afford  unexampled  in- 
-*-  ducements  to  the  surplus  energy  and  capital  of  the  East 
and  Europe ;  and  the  field  which  they  spread  out  so  invitingly 
to  the  emigrant's  choice  is  as  wide  as  it  is  magnificent. 
Hundreds  of  millions  of  acres  of  rich  land — embracing  bottom 
and  prairie,  timber  and  running  water — are  open  for  settle- 
ment. Counties  are  to  be  populated,  and  towns  built,  all  over 
the  new  States  and  Territories.  Each  of  these  latter  is  an 
empire  in  itself.  Great  Britain  could  be  set  down  within  the 
borders  of  any  one  of  them,  and  yet  leave  room  for  some  of 
the  German  principalities.  The  records  of  the  Agricultural 
Bureau  at  Washington  show  that,  wherever  the  new  soil  has 
been  cultivated,  both  the  yield  per  acre  and  the  quality  of  the 
crops  produced  are  better  than  in  the  older  States.  The 
balance  of  power  is  moving  westward,  and  the  capital  of  the 
nation,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted,  must  eventually  come  also. 

(435) 


436  BUFFALO    LAND. 

There  is  no  reason  why  people  should  starve  in  the  great 
cities  of  this  broad  and  heaven-favored  land  of  ours.  Busi- 
ness men,  so  often  besieged  and  worried  with  applications  for 
positions  in  their  stores  and  counting-rooms,  might  with  ad- 
vantage tack  up  a  copy  of  the  Homestead  Law  by  their  desk, 
and  keep  a  further  supply  on  hand  for  distribution.  Every 
few  months  some  poet  sings  of  the  ill-paid  seamstress  in  the 
crowded  town,  or  some  hideous  murder  brings  to  light  the 
heroine  of  the  garret-stitched  shirt.  Yet,  meanwhile,  at  Den- 
ver City,  house-girls  have  been  getting  from  six  to  ten  dollars 
per  week,  and  thousands  could  find  comfortable  homes  through- 
out Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  Colorado,  with  remunerative  wages. 
Abroad,  men  toil,  and  women  work  in  the  fields,  and  in  one 
year  pay  out  from  the  scanty  earnings  which  they  wring  from 
a  stingy  soil  more  than  enough  to  purchase  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  good  land  in  the  great  and  growing  "West. 

SHOULD  THEKE  NOT  BE  COMPULSOKY  EMIGEATION? 

Except  in  the  case  of  the  very  decrepit,  or  totally  disabled, 
there  can  be  no  excuse  for  begging,  in  a  country  which  offers 
every  pauper  a  quarter-section  of  as  rich  land  as  the  sun  shines 
upon.  I  suppose  the  millennium  will  commence  when  laws 
compel  the  cities  to  drive  from  them  the  idle  and  vicious,  and 
make  them  tillers  of  the  soil  in  the  wilds.  Instead  of  brood- 
ing in  the  dark  alleys,  and  breeding  vice  to  be  flung  out  at 
regular  intervals  upon  the  civilized  thoroughfares,  these  ger- 
minators  of  disease  and  crime  would  be  dragged  forth  from 
their  purlieus  and  hiding-places,  and  disinfected  in  the  pure 
atmosphere  of  the  large  prairies  and  grand  forests.  Granting 
that  it  might  be  a  heavy  burden  upon  their  shoulders  at  the 


"get  a  good  ready."  437 

outset,  the  present  generation  of  reformers  would  have  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  sores  were  cleansed,  and  that 
moral  and  physical  disease  was  not  being  propagated  to  suf- 
focate their  children ;  and  even  although  some  of  the  present 
multitude  of  evil-doers  might  not  be  reclaimed,  most  of  their 
children  certainly  would  be.  It  is  more  profitable  to  raise 
farmers  than  convicts.  Instead  of  building  jails  to  hold  men 
in  life-long  mildew,  our  artisans  might  be  building  steamers 
and  cars,  to  carry  their  products  to  the  seaboard. 

"GET  A  GOOD  READY." 

Of  the  immense  and  almost  boundless  tracts  of  Western 
land  that  invite  the  emigrant's  choice,  the  larger  part  can  be 
homesteaded  and  pre-empted,  and  the  remainder  purchased  on 
favorable  terms  from  the  different  railroads.  The  competition 
among  the  latter  for  immigration  has  induced  low  prices  and 
superior  facilities  for  examination. 

AVhere  a  number  of  families  are  coming  together,  the  best 
way,  as  a  rule,  is  to  select  commissioners  from  the  number,  to 
go  in  advance,  and  spy  out  the  land,  which  can  be  done  at 
comparatively  trifling  expense.  On  giving  satisfactory  proof 
of  their  mission,  such  representatives  are  nearly  always  able  to 
secure  low  rates  of  fare  and  freight.  In  this  way,  two  or  three 
reliable  agents  can  select  a  district  in  which  a  colony  may  set- 
tle, and  make  all  the  necessary  arrangements  for  its  transpor- 
tation, and  each  family  save  a  number  of  dollars,  Avhich  will 
give  back  compound  interest  in  the  new  home. 

"  Get  a  good  ready  "  before  starting,  and  have  your  route 
plainly  mapped  out ;  otherwise,  you  will  buy  experience  at  the 
sacrifice  of  many  a  useful  dollar.     And  pray  that  your  flight 


438  BUFFALO   LAND. 

be  not  in  the  winter.  Come  at  such  season  as  will  enable  you 
to  provide  at  least  some  shelter  and  supplies  before  the  in- 
clement months  come  on. 

Furniture  and  provisions  can  be  purchased  at  very  reason- 
able rates  at  the  West,  and  no  necessity  exists,  therefore,  for 
bringing  one  or  two  car  loads  of  broken  chairs,  and  partially 
filled  flour  barrels.  Good  stock  will  repay  transportation,  but 
common  breeds  are  abundant  and  cheap  on  the  ground.  Texas 
yearlings  can  be  purchased  for  about  six  dollars  per  head  in 
Kansas. 

HOMESTEAD  LAWS  AND  EEGULATIONS. 

The  following  is  an  epitome,  by  a  former  Register  of  a  Uni- 
ted States  Land  Office,  of  such  laws  and  regulations  as  pertain 
to  the  securing  of  Government  land : 

The  Pre-emption  Act  of  September  4,  1841,  provides,  that 
"every  person,  being  the  head  of  the  family,  or  w^dow,  or  single 
man  over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  being  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  or  having  filed  a  declaration  of  intention  to 
become  a  citizen,  as  required  by  the  naturalization  laws,''  is 
authorized  to  enter  at  the  Land  Office  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  unappropriated  Government  land  by  complying  with 
the  requirements  of  said  act. 

It  has  been  decided  that  an  unmarried  or  single  woman  over 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  not  the  head  of  the  family,  but 
able  to  meet  all  the  requirements  of  the  pre-emption  law,  has 
the  right  to  claim  its  benefits. 

Where  the  tract  is  "offered,''  the  party  must  file  his  de- 
claratory statements  within  thirty  days  from  the  date  of  his 
settlement,  and  within  one  year  from  the  date  of  said  settle- 


HOMESTEAD   LAWS   AND   REGULATIONS.  439 

ment,  must  appear  before  the  Register  and  Receiver,  and 
make  proof  of  his  actual  residence  and  cultivation  of  the  tract, 
and  pay  for  the  same  with  cash  or  Military  Land  Warrants. 
When  the  tract  has  been  surveyed  but  not  offered  at  public 
sale,  the  claimant  must  file  within  three  months  from  the  date 
of  settlement,  and  make  proof  and  payment  before  the  day  de- 
signated in  the  President's  Proclamation  offering  the  land  at 
public  sale. 

Should  the  settler,  in  either  of  the  above  class  of  cases,  die 
before  establishing  his  claim  within  the  period  limited  by  law, 
the  title  may  be  perfected  by  the  executor  or  administrator, 
by  making  the  requisite  proof  of  settlement  and  cultivation, 
and  paying  the  Government  price;  the  entry  to  be  made  in  the 
name  of  "  the  heirs  "  of  the  deceased  settler. 

When  a  person  has  filed  his  declaratory  statements  for  one 
tract  of  land,  it  is  not  lawful  for  the  same  individual  to  file  a 
second  declaratory  statement  for  another  tract  of  land,  unless 
the  first  filing  was  invalid  in  consequence  of  the  land  applied 
for,  not  being  open  to  pre-emption,  or  by  determination  of  the 
land  against  him,  in  case  of  contest,  or  from  any  other  simi- 
lar cause  which  would  have  prevented  him  from  consummating 
a  pre-emption  under  his  declaratory  statements. 

Each  qualified  pre-empter  is  permitted  to  enter  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  either  minimum  or  double  minimum  lands, 
subject  to  pre-emption,  by  paying  the  Government  price,  $1.25 
per  acre  for  the  former  class  of  lands,  and  $2.50  for  the  latter 
class. 

Where  a  person  has  filed  his  declaratory  statement  for  land 
^vhich  at  the  time  was  rated  at  $2.50  per  acre,  and  the  price 
has  subsequently  been  reduced  to  $1.25  per  acre,  before  he 
proves  up  and  makes  payment,  he  will  be  allowed  to  enter  the 


440  BUFFALO   LAND. 

land  embraced  in  his  declaratory  statement  at  the  last-named 
price,  viz.:    §1.25  per  acre. 

Final  proof  and  payment  can  not  be  made  until  the  party 
has  actually  resided  upon  the  land  for  a  period  of  at  least  six 
months,  and  made  the  necessary  cultivation  and  improvements 
to  show  his  good  faith  as  an  actual  settler.  This  proof  can  be 
made  by  one  witness. 

The  party  who  makes  the  first  settlement  in  person  upon  a 
tract  of  public  land  is  entitled  to  the  right  of  pre-emption, 
provided  he  subsequently  complies  with  all  the  requirements  of 
the  law — his  right  to  the  land  commences  from  the  date  he 
performed  the  first  work  on  the  land. 

When  a  person  has  filed  his  declaratory  statement  for  a  tract 
of  land,  and  afterward  relinquishes  it  to  the  Government,  he 
forfeits  his  right  to  file  again  for  another  tract  of  land. 

The  assignment  of  a  pre-emption  right  is  null  and  void. 
Title  to  public  land  is  not  perfected  until  the  issuance  of  the 
patent  from  the  General  Land  Office,  and  all  sales  and  transfers 
prior  to  the  date  of  the  patents  are  in  violation  of  law. 

The  Act  of  March  27,  1854,  protects  the  right  of  settlers  on 
sections  along  the  lines  of  railroads,  when  settlement  was  made 
prior  to  the  withdrawal  of  the  lands,  and  in  such  case  allows 
the  lands  to  be  pre-empted  and  paid  for  at  $1.25  per  acre,  by 
furnishing  proof  of  inhabitancy  and  cultivation,  as  required 
under  the  Act  of  September  4,  1841. 

The  Homestead  Act  of  May  20,  1862,  provides  ''that  any 
person  who  is  the  head  of  a  family,  or  who  has  arrived  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
or  who  shall  have  filed  his  declaration  of  intention  to  become 
such,  as  required  by  the  naturalization  laws  of  the  United 
States,   and   who  has  never  borne  arms  against  the  United 


HOMESTEAD   LAWS  AND   REGULATIONS.  441 

States  Government,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  its  enemies,  shall 
be  entitled  to  enter  one  quarter  section  or  less  quantity  of  un- 
appropriated public  land." 

Under  this  act,  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  subject 
to  pre-emption  at  $1.25  per  acre,  or  eighty  acres  at  $2.50  per 
acre,  can  be  entered  upon  application,  by  making  affidavit 
"that  he  or  she  is  the  head  of  a  family,  or  is  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  or  shall  have  performed  service  in  the  army  and  navy 
of  the  United  States,  and  that  such  application  is  made  for  his 
or  her  exclusive  use  or  benefit,  and  that  said  entry  is  made  for 
the  purpose  of  actual  settlement  and  cultivation,  and  not,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  any  other  per- 
son or  persons  whomsoever.^'  On  filing  said  affidavit,  and  pay- 
ment of  fees  and  commissions,  the  entry  will  be  permitted. 

Soldiers  and  sailors  who  have  served  ninety  days  can,  how- 
ever, take  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  the  |2.50,  or  double 
minimum  lands.  In  all  other  respects  they  are  subject  to  the 
usual  Homestead  laws  and  regulations. 

No  certificate  will  be  given,  or  patent  issued,  until  the  ex- 
piration of  five  years  from  the  date  of  said  entry;  and  if, 
at  the  expiration  of  such  time,  or  at  any  time  within  two 
years  thereafter,  the  person  making  such  entry — ^or  if  he  be 
dead,  his  widow;  or  in  case  of  her  death,  his  heirs  or  devisee; 
or  in  case  of  a  widow  making  such  entry,  her  heirs  or  devisee, 
in  case  of  her  death — shall  prove  by  two  credible  witnesses 
that  he  or  she  has  resided  upon  and  cultivated  the  same  for 
the  term  of  five  years  immediately  succeeding  the  date  of  filing 
the  above  affidavit,  and  shall  make  affidavit  that  no  part  of 
said  land  has  been  alienated,  and  that  he  has  borne  true  al- 
legiance to  the  Government  of  the  United  States;  then  he  or 
she,  if  at  that  time  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  en- 


442  BUFFALO   LAND. 

titled  to  a  patent.  In  case  of  the  death  of  both  father  and 
mother,  leaving  an  infant  child  or  children  under  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  the  right  and  fee  shall  inure  to  the  benefit  of  said 
infant  or  children  ;  and  the  executor,  administrator,  or  guardian 
may,  at  any  time  after  the  death  of  the  surviving  parent,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  law  of  the  State  in  which  such  children  for 
the  time  being  have  their  domicil,  sell  said  land  for  the  benefit 
of  said  infants,  but  for  no  other  purpose ;  anc^  the  purchaser 
shall  acquire  the  absolute  title  from  the  Government  and  be 
entitled  to  a  patent. 

When  a  homestead  settler  has  failed  to  commence  his  resi- 
dence upon  land  so  as  to  enable  him  to  make  a  continuous  resi- 
dence of  five  years  within  the  time  (seven  years)  limited  by 
law,  he  will  be  permitted,  upon  filing  an  affidavit  showing  a 
sufficient  reason  for  his  neglect  to  date  his  residence  at  the  time 
he  commenced  such  inhabitancy,  and  will  be  required  to  live 
upon  the  land  for  five  years  from  said  date,  provided  no 
adverse  claim  has  attached  to  said  land,  and  the  affidavit  of 
a  settler  is  supported  by  the  testimony  of  disinterested  wit- 
nesses. 

In  the  second  section  of  the  act  of  May  20,  1862,  it  is  stipu- 
lated in  regard  to  settlers,  that  in  the  case  of  the  death  of  both 
father  and  mother,  leaving  an  infant  child,  or  children,  under 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  the  right  and  fee  shall  inure  to  the 
benefit  of  the  infant  child  or  children ;  and  that  the  executor, 
administrator,  or  guardian,  may  sell  the  land  for  the  benefit  of 
the  infant  heirs,  at  any  time  within  two  years  after  the  death 
of  the  surviving  parent,  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  the 
State.  The  Commissioner  rules  that  instead  of  selling  the  land 
as  above  provided,  their  heirs  may,  if  they  so  select,  continue 
residence  and  cultivation  on  the  land  for  the  period  required 


HOMESTEAD  LAWS  AND  REGULATIONS.  443 

by  law,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  provided,  a  patent 
will  be  issued  in  their  names. 

In  the  case  of  the  death  of  a  homestead  settler  who  leaves  a 
widow  and  children,  should  the  widow  again  marry  and  con- 
tinue her  residence  and  cultivation  upon  the  land  entered  in 
the  name  of  her  first  husband  for  the  period  required  by  law, 
she  will  be  permitted  to  make  final  proof  as  the  widow  of  the 
deceased  settler,  and  the  patent  will  be  issued  in  the  name  of 
"  his  heirs.'' 

When  a  widow,  or  single  woman,  has  made  a  homestead 
entry,  and  thereafter  marries  a  person  who  has  also  made  a 
similar  entry  on  a  tract,  it  is  ruled  that  the  parties  may  select 
which  tract  they  will  retain  for  permanent  residence,  and  will 
be  allowed  to  enter  the  remaining  tract  under  the  eighth  section 
of  the  act  of  May  20,  1862,  on  proof  of  inhabitance  and  culti- 
vation up  to  date  of  marriage. 

In  the  case  of  the  death  of  a  homestead  settler,  his  heirs  will 
be  allowed  to  enter  the  land  under  the  eighth  section  of  the 
Homestead  Act,  by  making  proof  of  inhabitancy  and  culti- 
vation in  the  same  manner  as  provided  by  the  second  section 
of  the  act  of  March  3,  1853,  in  regard  to  deceased  pre- 
emptors. 

When  at  the  date  of  application  the  land  is  $2.50  per  acre, 
and  the  settler  is  limited  to  an  entry  of  eighty  acres,  should  the 
price  subsequently  be  reduced  to  $1.25  per  acre,  the  settler  will 
not  be  allowed  to  take  additional  land  to  make  up  the  de- 
ficiency. 

The  sale  of  a  homestead  claim  by  the  settler  to  another  is 
not  recognized,  and  vests  no  titles  or  equities  in  the  purchaser, 
and  would  be  prima  facie  evidence  of  abandonment,  and  suffi- 
cient cause  for  cancellation  of  the  entry. 


444  BUFFALO     LAT^D. 

The  law  allows  but  one  homestead  privilege.  A  settler  who 
relinquished  or  abandoned  his  claim  can  not  hereafter  make  a 
second  entry. 

When  a  party  has  made  a  settlement  on  a  surveyed  tract  of 
land,  and  filed  his  pre-emption  declaration  thereof,  he  may 
change  his  filing  into  a  homestead. 

If  a  homestead  settler  does  not  wish  to  remain  five  years  on 
his  tract,  the  law  permits  him  to  pay  for  it  with  cash  or  mili- 
tary warrants,  upon  making  proof  of  residence  and  cultivation 
as  required  in  pre-emption  cases.  The  proof  is  made  by  the 
affidavit  of  the  party  and  the  testimony  of  two  credible  wit- 
nesses. 

Tliere  is  another  class  of  homesteads,  designated  as  "  Ad- 
joining Farm  Homesteads."  In  these  cases,  the  law  allows  an 
applicant  owning  and  residing  on  an  original  farm,  to  enter 
other  land  contiguous  thereto,  which  shall  not,  with  such  farm, 
exceed  in  the  aggregate  160  acres.  For  example,  a  party  own- 
ing or  occupying  80  acres,  may  enter  80  additional  of  §1.25,  or 
40  acres  of  $2.50  land.  Or,  if  the  applicant  owns  40  acres,  he 
may  enter  120  at  $1.25,  or  60  at  $2.50  per  acre,  if  both 
classes  of  land  should  be  found  contiguous  to  his  original 
farm.  In  entries  of  "  Adjoining  Farms,"  the  settler  must  de- 
scribe in  his  affidavit  the  tract  he  owns  and  lives  upon,  as  his 
original  farm.  Actual  residence  on  the  tract  entered  as  an 
"adjoining  farm"  is  not  required,  but  bona  fide  improvement 
and  cultivation  of  it  must  be  shown  for  five  years. 

The  right  to  a  tract  of  land  under  the  Homestead  Act,  com- 
mences from  the  date  of  entry  in  the  Land  Office,  and  not  from 
date  of  personal  settlement,  as  in  case  of  the  pre-emption. 

When  a  party  makes  an  entry  under  the  Homestead  Act,  and 
thereafter,  before  the  expiration  of  five  years,  makes  satis- 


HOMESTEAD  LAWS  AND  REGULATIONS.  445 

factory  proof  of  habitancy  and  cultivation,  and  pays  for  the 
tract  under  the  8th  section  of  said  act,  it  is  held  to  be  a  con- 
summation of  his  homestead  right  as  the  act  allows,  and  not  a 
pre-emption,  and  will  be  no  bar  to  the  same  party  acquiring  i 
pre-emption  right,  provided  he  can  legally  show  his  right  in 
virtue  of  actual  settlement  and  cultivation  on  another  tract,  at 
a  period  subsequent  to  his  proof  and  payment  under  the  8th 
section  of  the  Homestead  Act. 

The  2d  section  of  the  act  of  May  20,  1862,  declares  that 
after  making  proof  of  settlement,  cultivation,  etc.,  "  then,  if 
the  party  is  at  that  time  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  he  shall 
be  entitled  to  a  patent."  This,  then,  requires  that  all  settlers 
shall  be  "citizens  of  the  United  States"  at  the  time  of 
making  final  proof,  and  they  must  file  in  the  Land  Office  the 
proper  evidence  of  that  fact  before  a  final  certificate  will  be 
issued. 

A  party  who  has  proved  up  and  paid  for  a  tract  of  land 
under  the  Pre-emption  Act,  can  subsequently  enter  another  tract 
of  land  under  the  Homestead  Act.  Or,  a  party  who  has  con- 
summated his  right  to  a  tract  of  land  under  the  Homestead 
Act  will  afterward  be  permitted  to  pre-empt  another  tract. 

A  settler  who  desires  to  "  relinquish  his  homestead  must 
surrender  his  duplicate  receipt,  his  relinquishment  to  the 
United  States"  being  endorsed  thereon;  if  he  has  lost  his 
receipt,  that  fact  must  be  stated  in  his  relinquishment,  to  be 
signed  by  the  settler,  attested  by  two  witnesses,  and  acknowl- 
edged before  the  register  or  receiyer,  or  clerk  or  notary  public 
using  a  seal. 

When  a  homestead  entry  is  contested  and  application  is 
made  for  cancellation,  the  party  so  applying  must  file  an  affi- 
davit  setting   forth   the   facts   on   which   his   allegations  are 


446  BUFFALO    LAND. 

grounded,  describing  the  tract  and  giving  the  name  of  the 
settler.  A  day  will  then  be  set  for  hearing  the  evidence,  giv- 
ing all  parties  due  notice  of  the  time  and  place  of  trial.  It 
requires  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  establish  the  aban- 
donment of  a  homestead  entry. 

The  notice  to  a  settler  that  his  claim  is  contested  must  be 
served  by  a  disinterested  party,  and  in  all  cases  when  prac- 
ticable, personal  service  must  be  made  upon  the  settler. 

Another  entry  of  the  land  will  not  be  made  in  case  of  re- 
linquishment or  contest,  until  the  cancellation  is  ordered  by 
the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Of&ce. 

When  a  party  has  made  a  mistake  in  the  description  of  the 
land  he  desires  to  enter  as  a  homestead,  and  desires  to  amend 
his  apj)lication,  he  will  be  permitted  to  do  so  upon  furnishing 
the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  the  facts,  and  proving  that 
he  has  made  no  improvements  on  the  land  described  in  his  ap- 
plication, but  has  made  valuable  improvements  on  the  land  he 
first  intended  and  now  applies  to  enter. 

It  is  important  to  settlers  to  bear  in  mind  that  it  requires 
two  witnesses  to  make  final  proof  under  the  Homestead  Act, 
who  can  testify  that  the  settler  has  resided  upon  and  cultivated 
the  tract  for  five  years  from  the  date  of  his  entry. 

Patents  are  not  issued  for  lands  until  from  one  to  two  years 
after  date  of  location  in  the  District  Ofiice.  No  patent  will 
be  delivered  until  the  surrender  of  the  duplicate  receipt,  un- 
less such  receipt  should  be  lost,  in  which  case  an  affidavit  of 
the  fact  must  be  filed  in  the  Register's  Office,  showing  how 
said  loss  occurred,  also  that  said  certificate  has  never  been  as- 
signed, and  that  the  holder  is  the  bona  fide  owner  of  the  land, 
and  entitled  to  said  patent. 

By  a  careful  examination  of  the  foregoing  requirements, 


THE   STATE   OF   KANSAS.  447 

settlers  will  be  enabled  to  learn  without  a  visit  to  the  Land 
Office  the  manner  in  which  they  can  secure  and  perfect  title  to 
public  lands  under  the  Pre-emption  Act  of  September  5,  1841, 
and  Homestead  Act  of  May  20,  1862. 

THE  STATE  OF  KANSAS. 

Our  sojourn  on  the  plains  impressed  our  party  with  a  strong 
belief  that  Kansas,  at  no  distant  day,  will  be  one  of  the  richest 
garden  spots  on  the  continent.  I  have  more  particularly  de- 
scribed the  central  portion  of  the  State,  but  both  Northern  and 
Southern  Kansas  are  equally  as  fertile  and  desirable. 

The  United  States  Land  Offices  in  Kansas  are  located  at  the 
following  places :  Topeka,  Humboldt,  Augusta,  Salina,  and 
Concordia.  The  rapidity  with  which  Kansas  is  being  settled 
may  readily  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  2,000,000  acres  of 
its  land  were  sold  during  one  year,  1870. 

In  our  note-book,  I  find  the  outline  of  a  speech  delivered 
by  the  Professor  in  Topeka,  and  I  quote  a  single  paragraph 
as  fitly  expressing  the  common  sentiment  of  our  entire 
number : 

"  Gentlemen,  great  as  your  State  now  is  in  extent  of  terri- 
tory and  natural  resources,  she  will  soon  have  a  corresponding 
greatness  in  the  means  of  development,  and  in  a  self-support- 
ing population.  1870  holds  in  her  lap  and  fondles  the  in- 
fant; 1880  will  shake  hands  with  the  giant.  The  whole  sur- 
face of  your  land,  gentlemen,  is  one  wild  sea  of  beauty,  ready 
to  toss  into  the  lap  of  every  venturer  upon  it,  a  farm.  The 
genius  which  rewards  honest  industry  stands  on  the  threshold 
of  your  State,  with  countless  herds  and  golden  sheaves, 
smiling  ready  welcome  to  all  new-comers,  of  whatever  creed  or 
clime.'' 


448  BUFFALO   LAND. 


WHAT  A   FARM   WILL  COST. 

The  emigrant  has  already  been  told  what  it  will  cost  him  to 
obtain  government  land.  If  this  adjoins  railroad  tracts,  he 
can  secure  what  is  desired  of  the  latter  at  from  two  to  ten 
dollars  per  acre. 

The  expense  of  fencing  material  might  be  fairly  estimated 
at  from  twenty  to  thirty  dollars  per  thousand  feet  for  boards, 
and  ten  to  fifteen  dollars  per  hundred  for  posts.  This  is  sup- 
posing that  all  the  material  is  purchased.  If  fortunate  enough 
to  have  timber  on  his  claim,  the  emigrant,  of  course,  can 
inclose  the  farm  at  the  cost  of  his  own  labor. 

I  have  seen  many  new-comers  protect  their  fields  by  simply 
digging  around  them  a  narrow,  deep  trench,  and  throwing  the 
-earth  on  the  inside  line  so  as  to  raise  an  embankment  along 
that  side  two  feet  in  height.  One  single  wire  stretched  along 
this,  and  secured  at  proper  intervals  by  small  stakes,  appears 
to  answer  quite  well  as  a  cattle  guard. 

Osage  orange  grows  rapidly,  and  is  cheap,  and  a  permanent 
fence  can  be  made  with  it,  at  small  expense,  in  the  course  of 
three  or  four  years. 

The  usual  cost  of  breaking  prairie  is  from  two  to  four  dol- 
lars per  acre.  With  a  yoke  or  two  of  good  oxen,  however, 
this  item  can  also  be  saved. 

The  second  year  the  farmer  can  set  out  with  safety  his  trees 
and  vines,  and  the  third  or  fourth  year  he  may  be  considered 
fairly  on  the  road  to  prosperity. 

Laborers'  wages  are  from  twenty  to  thirty  dollars  per 
month  and  board. 


A   FEW  MORE   PRACTICAL   SUGGESTIONS.         449 

I  estimate  that  a  fair  statement  of  the  prices  for  stock  would 
be  about  as  follows :  Work  oxen,  seventy-five  to  one  hundred 
'lollars  per  yoke ;  cows,  twenty  to  fifty  dollars  each ;  horses, 
seventy-five  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 


A  FEW   MORE  PRACTICAL  SUGGESTIONS. 

I  would  say  to  the  emigrant,  Do  not  be  influenced  to  select 
any  one  particular  State  or  locality  until  you  have  more  au- 
thority for  the  step  than  a  single  publication.  Examine  care- 
fully, make  up  your  mind  deliberately,  and  then  move  with 
determination.  It  will  require  no  very  great  exertion  to  se- 
cure a  half  dozen  glowing  advertisements  from  as  many  new 
Western  States  and  Territories.  It  will  need  but  little  more 
effort  to  obtain  from  five  to  fifty  "rosy"  circulars  from  as 
many  different  districts  in  each  of  the  separate  '^  garden  spots," 
After  examining  these  until  ready  to  sing, — 

"How  happy  could  I  be  with  either 
Were  t'  other  dear  charmer  away," 

take  down  your  map,  and  let  the  railroads  and  streams  assist 
your  choice.  You  have  then  secured  yourself  against  one 
danger  of  the  journey — that  of  having  these  same  circulars 
flung  into  your  laj)  en  route,  and  being  diverted  by  them  into 
dubious  ways  and  needless  expenditures.  But  be  careful, 
reader,  that  you  select  not  as  accurate  beyond  the  possibility 
of  a  mistake  the  maps  accompanying  the  circulars;  otherwise, 
you  may  find  yourself  unable  to  choose  between  several  thou- 
sand railroad  centers  from  which  broad  gauges  radiate  like 

25 


450  BUFFALO    LAND. 

the  spokes  in  a  wheel,  and  your  ignorance  of  modern  geog- 
raphy may  be  brought  painfully  home  by  discovering  navi- 
gable rivers  where  you  had  supposed  only  creeks  existed.  In 
these  matters,  as  in  every  thing  else  connected  with  your 
"  new  departure,''  consult  all  the  various  sources  of  informa- 
tion within  your  reach. 


^PPEInTDIX. 


CHAPTER  SECOND. 


rUETHEE  INFOEMATION  FOE  THE  SPOETSMAN. 


APPEI^TDIX. 


CONTENTS  OF  CHAPTER  SECOND. 


PACK 


Hunting  the  Buffalo, ,  453 

Antklopb  Hunting,  ....                458 

Elk  Hunting, 459 

Turkey  Hunting, 459 

General  Remarks,  .        .      ~ 460 

What  to  Do  if  Lost  on  the  Plains,    .        .        .       ,       •       ,       .461 

The  New  Field  fob  Sportsmen, 462 


CHAPTER  SECOND. 

FURTHER  INFORMATION  FOR  THE  SPORTSMAN. 

HUNTING  THE  BUFFALO. 

rilHE  first  matter  to  be  determined,  in  planning  any  sport- 
-■-  ing  trip,  is  the  best  point  at  which  to  seek  for  game. 
]f  the  object  of  pursuit  be  buffalo,  I  should  say,  Deposit  your- 
self as  soon  as  possible  on  the  plains  of  "Western  Kansas.* 
Take  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railway  at  the  State  line,  and  you  can 
readily  find  out  from  the  conductors  at  what  point  the  buffalo 
chance  then  to  be  most  numerous.  There  are  a  dozen  stations 
after  passing  Ellsworth  equally  good.  One  month,  the  bison 
may  be  numerous  along  the  eastern  portion  of  the  plains;  a 
month  later,  the  herds  will  be  found  perhaps  sixty  or  eighty 
miles  further  west.  As  one  has  at  least  a  day's  ride,  after  en- 
tering Kansas,  before  penetrating  into  the  solitude  of  Buffalo 
Land,  there  is  ample  time  to  decide  upon  a  stopping  place. 
Russell  as  an  eastern,  and  Buffalo  Station  as  a  western  point, 
will  be  found  good  basis  for  operations.  In  the  former,  some 
hotel  accommodations  exist;  in  the  latter,  there  are  several 
dug-outs,  and  hunters  who  can  be  obtained  for  guides. 

Those  who  can  spend  a  week  or  more  on  the  grounds,  and 

wish  to  enjoy  the  sport  in  its  only  legitimate  way,  namely, 

*  During  the  present  year,  the  A.  T.  &  Santa  Fe  R.  R.  will  probably  be 

finished  to  the  big  bend  of  the  Arkansas,  which  will  place  the  sportsman  in 

one  of  the  finest  game  regions  of  the  conUnent. 

(453) 


454  BUFFALO    LAND. 

horseback  hunting,  should  stop  at  the  point  where  they  may 
best  procure  mounts,  even  if  it  necessitate  a  journey  in  the 
saddle  of  twenty  miles.  Ellsworth,  Russell,  and  Hays  City 
are  the  places  where  such  outfits  may  generally  be  obtained. 

For  shooting  bison,  the  hunter  should  come  prepared  with 
some  other  weapon  than  a  squirrel  rifle  or  double  barreled 
shot  gun.  I  have  known  several  instances  in  which  persona 
appeared  on  the  ground  armed  with  ancient  smooth-bores  or 
fowling-pieces ;  and  in  one  of  these  cases  the  object  of  attack, 
after  receiving  a  bombardment  of  several  minutes'  duration, 
tossed  the  squirrel  hunter  and  injured  him  severely.  A  breech- 
loading  rifle,  with  a  magazine  holding  several  cartridges,  is  by 
far  the  best  weapon.  In  my  own  experience  I  became  very 
fond  of  a  carbine  combining  the  Henry  and  King  patents. 
It  weighed  but  seven  and  one-half  pounds,  and  could  be  fired 
rapidly  twelve  times  without  replenishing  the  magazine. 
Hung  by  a  strap  to  the  shoulder,  this  weapon  can  be  dropped 
across  the  saddle  in  front,  and  held  there  very  firmly  by  a 
slight  pressure  of  the  body.  The  rider  may  then  draw  his 
holster  revolvers  in  succession,  and  after  using  them,  have  left 
a  carbine  reserve  for  any  emergency.  Twenty-four  shots  can 
thus  be  exhausted  before  reloading,  and,  with  a  little  practice, 
the  magazine  of  the  gun  may  be  refilled  without  checking  the 
horse.  So  light  is  this  Henry  and  King  weapon  that  I  have 
often  held  it  out  with  one  hand  like  a  pistol,  and  fired. 

When  a  herd  of  buffalo  is  discovered,  the  direction  of  the 
wind  should  be  carefully  ascertained.  The  taint  of  the  hunter 
is  detected  at  a  long  distance,  and  the  bison  accepts  the  evi- 
dence of  his  nose  more  readily  than  even  that  of  his  eyes. 
This  delicacy  of  smell,  however,  is  becoming  either  more 
blunted  or  less  heeded  than  formerly,  owing  probably  to  the 


,.^ 


HUNTING   THE   BUFFALO.  455 

passage  over  the  plains  of  the  crowded  passenger  cars,  which 
keep  the  air  constantly  impregnated  for  long  distances. 

Having  satisfied  himself  in  regard  to  the  wind,  the  sports- 
man should  take  advantage  of  the  ravines  and  slight  depres- 
sions, which  every-where  abound  on  the  plains,  and  approach 
as  near  the  herd  as  possible.  If  mounted,  let  him  gain  every 
obtainable  inch  before  making  the  charge.  It  is  an  egregious 
blunder  to  go  dashing  over  the  prairie  for  half  a  mile  or  so, 
in  full  view  of  the  game,  and  thus  give  it  the  advantage  of  a 
long  start.  When  this  is  done,  unless  your  animal  is  a  supe- 
rior one,  he  will  be  winded  and  left  behind. 

In  most  cases,  careful  planning  will  place  one  within  a 
couple  of  hundred  yards  of  the  bison.  Be  sure  that  every 
weapon  is  ready  for  the  hand,  and  then  charge.  Put  your 
horse  to  full  speed  as  soon  as  practicable.  Place  him  beside 
the  buifalo,  and  he  can  easily  keep  there;  whereas,  if  you 
nurse  his  pace  at  the  first,  and  make  it  a  stern  chase,  both 
your  animal  and  yourself,  should  you  have  the  rare  luck  of 
catching  up  at  all,  will  be  jaded  completely  before  doing  so. 
In  shooting  from  the  saddle,  be  very  careful  between  shots, 
and  keep  the  muzzle  of  the  weapon  in  some  other  direction 
than  your  horse  or  your  feet.  A  sudden  jolt,  or  a  nervous 
finger,  often  causes  a  premature  discharge.  In  taking  aim, 
draw  your  bead  well  forward  on  the  buffyo — if  possible,  a 
little  behind  the  fore-shoulder.  The  vital  organs  being  situa- 
ted there,  a  ranging  shot  will  hit  some  of  them,  on  one  side 
or  the  other.  Back  of  the  ribs,  the  buffalo  will  receive  a 
dozen  balls  without  being  checked.  A  discharge  of  bullets 
into  the  hind-quarters,  is  w^orse  than  useless. 

"While  trying  in  the  most  enjoyable  and  practical  manner 
to  kill   the  game,  it  is  very  necessary  to  escape,  if  possible, 


456  BUFFALO   LAND. 

any  injury  to  yourself  or  horse.  The  Frenchman's  remark 
on  tiger  hunting  is  very  apropos.  "Ven  ze  Frenchman  hubt, 
ze  tiger,  it  fine  sport;  but  ven  ze  tiger  hunt  ze  Frenchman,  it 
is  not  so."  Care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  horse  perfectly 
under  control,  when  the  bison  stands  at  bay.  Unless  experi- 
enced in  bull  fighting,  he  does  not  appreciate  the  danger,  and 
a  sudden  charge  has  often  resulted  in  disembowelment. 

Never  dismount  to  approach  tlie  buffalo,  unless  certain  that 
he  is  crippled  so  as  to  prevent  rising.  One  that  is  apparently 
wounded  unto  death  will  often  get  upon  his  feet  nimbly,  and 
prove  an  ugly  customer.  I  knew  a  soldier  killed  at  Hays  City 
in  this  manner — thrown  several  feet  into  the  air,  and  fearfully 
torn.  Recently  near  Cayote  Station,  on  the  Kansas  Pacific 
Railway,  a  buffalo  was  shot  from  the  train,  and  the  cars  were 
stopped  to  secure  the  meat,  and  gratify  the  passengers.  One 
of  the  latter,  a  stout  Englishman,  ran  ahead  of  his  fellows, 
and  shook  his  fist  in  the  face  of  the  prostrate  bison.  The 
American  bull  did  not  brook  such  an  insult  from  the  English 
one,  and  Johnny  received  a  terrible  blow  while  attempting  to 
escape.  He  was  badly  injured,  and,  when  I  saw  him  some  time 
afterward,  could  only  move  on  crutches. 

Should  the  hunter  on  foot  ever  have  to  stand  a  charge,  let 
him  fire  at  what  is  visible  of  the  back,  above  the  lowered  head, 
or,  should  he  be  able  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  fore-shoulder, 
let  him  direct  his  bullet  there.  The  bone  seems  to  be  broken 
readily  by  a  ball.  Against  the  frontal  bone  of  the  bison's 
skull,  the  lead  falls  harmless.  To  test  this  fully,  with  Califor- 
nia Bill  as  a  companion,  I  once  aj)proached  a  buffalo  which 
stood  wounded  in  a  ravine.  We  took  position  upon  the  hilK 
side,  knowing  that  he  could  not  readily  charge  up  it,  at  a  dis' 
tance  of  only   fifteen   yards.     I   fired   three   shots    from   th<? 


HUNTING   THE   BUFFALO.  457 

Henry  weapon  full  against  the  forehead,  causing  no  other  re- 
sult than  some  angry  head-shaking.  I  then  took  Bill's 
Spencei  carbine,  and  fired  twice  with  it.  At  each  shot  the 
bull  sank  partly  to  his  knees,  but  immediately  recovered  again. 
I  afterward  examined  the  skull,  and  could  detect  no  fracture. 

A  person  dismounted  by  accident  or  imprudence,  and 
charged  upon,  can  avoid  the  blow  by  waiting  until  the  horns 
are  within  a  few  feet  of  him,  and  then  jumping  quickly  on  one 
side.  After  the  buffalo  has  passed,  let  the  brief  period  of  time 
before  he  has  checked  his  rush,  be  employed  in  traversing  as 
much  prairie,  on  the  back  track,  as  possible,  and  the  chances 
are  that  no  pursuit  will  be  made.  Should  a  foot  trip,  or  a  fall 
from  the  horse  give  no  time  for  such  tactics,  then  let  the 
hunter  hug  Mother  Earth  as  tight  as  may  be.  The  probabili- 
ties are  that  the  bull  can  not  pick  the  body  up  with  his  horns. 
I  have  known  a  hunter  to  escape  by  throwing  himself  in  the 
slight  hollow  of  a  trail,  and  thus  baffling  all  attempts  to  hook 
him. 

Accidents  are  rare  in  bison  hunting,  however,  and  the 
reader  should  not  be  deterred  from  noble  sport  by  the  mere 
possibility  of  mishaps.  I  have  given  the  above  advice,  feeling 
that  I  shall  be  well  repaid  if  it  saves  the  life  or  limbs  of  one 
man  out  of  the  thousands  who  may  be  exposed.  A  glimpse 
of  surgeon's  instruments  should  not  make  the  soldier  a  coward. 
Comparatively  few  people  are  killed  by  electricity,  and  yet 
lightning-rods  are  very  popular. 

The  hunter  who  has  no  love  for  the  saddle,  and  prefers 
stalking,  should  provide  himself  with  some  breech-loading 
rifle  or  carbine,  carrying  a  heavy  ball — the  heavier  the  better. 
The  most  effective  weapon  is  the  needle-gun  used  in  the  army, 
having  a  bore  the  size  of  the  old  Springfield  musket,  and  a 


458  BUFFALO   LAND. 

ball  to  correspond.  A  bullet  from  this  weapon  usually  proves 
fatal.  But  there  is  little  genuine  sport  in  such  practice. 
Stalking  holds  the  same  relation  to  horseback  hunting  that 
'*  hand  line"  fishing  does  to  that  with  the  rod  and  reel,  the  fly 
and  the  spoon,  or  that  killing  birds  on  the  ground  does  to 
wing-shooting.  » 

In  selecting  from  the  herd  a  single  individual  for  attack,  the 
hunter  should  do  so  with  some  reference  to  the  intended  use  of 
the  game.  For  furnishing  trophies  of  the  chase,  such  as 
horns  and  robe,  the  bull  will  do  well ;  but  if  the  meat  is  for 
use,  it  will  be  advisable  to  sacrifice  some  sport,  and  obtain  a 
cow  or  calf.  I  have  known  many  an  ancient  bison,  with 
scarcely  enough  meat  on  his  bones  to  hold  the  bullets,  killed 
by  amateurs,  and  the  leather-like  quarters  shipped  to  eastern 
friends  as  rare  delicacies  ! 


ANTELOPE   HUNTING. 

Antelope  hunting  is  a  sport  requiring  more  strategy  and 
caution  than  the  one  we  have  described.  The  creature  is 
timid  and  swift,  and  inclined  to  feed  on  ridges  or  level  lands, 
where  stafking  is  difficult.  Its  eyes  and  ears  are  wonderfully 
quick  in  detecting  danger,  and  the  animal  at  once  seeks  points 
which  command  the  surroundings.  If  unable  to  keep  in  view 
the  object  of  alarm,  immediate  flight  results. 

The  modes  of  hunting  this  game  are  two.  If  no  possibility 
of  stalking  exists,  a  red  flag  may  be  attached  to  a  small  stick, 
and  planted  in  front  of  the  ravine  or  other  place  of  conceal- 
ment. The  antelope  at  once  becomes  curious,  and  begins  cir- 
cling toward  it,  each  moment  approaching  a  little  nearer,  until 
finally  within  shooting  distance.     The  other  method  is  by  care- 


ELK   AT^D   TURKEY   HUNTING.  459 

ful  stalking.  If  the  animal  is  on  a  high  ridge,  the  sides  of 
which  round  upward  a  little,  the  hunter  may  crawl  on  his 
hands  ^ind  knees  until  he  sees,  just  visible  above  the  grass,  the 
tij^s  of  the  horns  or  ears.  Then  let  him  rise  on  one  knee,  with 
gun  to  shoulder,  and  take  quick  aim  well  forward,  as  the  body 
comes  into  view.  The  approach  can  not  be  too  cautious,  as 
the  antelope  stops  feeding  every  minute  or  so,  to  lift  its  head 
high,  and  gaze  around.  Thus  the  incautious  hunter  may  be 
brought,  on  the  instant,  into  full  relief,  and  the  quick  bound 
which  follows  discovery,  rob  him  of  the  fruit  of  long  crawling. 
Rare  enjoyment  might  be  obtained  by  any  one  who  would 
take  with  him,  to  the  plains,  a  good  greyhound.  Mounted  on 
a  reliable  horse,  the  sportsman  could  follow  the  dog  in  its  pur- 
suit of  antelope,  and  be  in  at  the  death. 

ELK   HUNTING. 

Elk  must  be  hunted  by  stalking,  as  he  speedily  distances  any 
horse.  The  animal  is  found  in  abundance  along  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Eepublican,  Solomon,  and  Saline.  I  prefer  its 
meat  to  that  of  either  the  buifalo  or  antelope.  The  horns  of  a 
fine  male  form  a  pleasing  trophy  to  look  at,  when  the  hunter's 
joints  have  been  stiffened  by  rheumatism  or  age. 

TUEKEY  HUNTING. 

Wild  turkeys  exist  in  great  numbers  along  the  creeks, 
over  the  whole  western  half  of  Kansas,  and,  where  they  have 
never  been  hunted,  are  so  tame  as  to  afford  but  little  sport. 
Cunning  is  their  natural  instinct,  however,  and  at  once  comes 
to  the  rescue,  when  needed.  After  a  few  have  been  shot,  the 
remainder  will  leave  the  narrow  skirt  of  creek  timber  instantly, 


460  BUFFALO    LAND. 

and  escape  among  the  ravines  by  fast  running,  defying  any  pur- 
suit except  in  the  saddle.  Even  then  if  they  can  get  out  of 
sight  for  a  moment,  they  will  often  escape.  While  the  rider  is 
pressing  forward  in  the  direction  a  tired  turkey  was  last  seen, 
the  bird  will  hide  and  let  him  pass ;  or,  turning  the  instant  it 
is  hidden  by  the  brow  of  the  ravine,  it  will  take  a  backward 
course,  passing,  if  necessary,  close  to  the  horse.  As  another  il- 
lustration of  the  wily  habits  of  the  turkey,  let  the  hunter  select 
a  creek  along  which  there  has  been  no  previous  shooting  done, 
and  kill  turkeys  at  early  morning  on  roosts,  and  the  next 
night  the  gangs  will  remain  out  among  the  "  breaks.'' 

For  this  shooting,  a  shot-gun  is,  of  course,  the  best,  although 
I  have  had  fine  sport  among  the  birds  with  the  rifle.  When 
using  shot  at  one  on  the  wing,  the  hunter  must  not  conclude 
his  aim  was  bad,  if  no  immediate  effect  is  observed.  The  fly- 
ing turkey  will  not  shrink,  as  the  prairie-chicken  does,  when 
receiving  and  carrying  off  lead.  I  have  frequently  heard  shot 
rattle  upon  a  gobbler's  stout  feathers  without  any  apparent  ef- 
fect, and  found  him  afterward,  flattering  helpless,  a  mile  away. 

GENERAL  EEMAEKS. 

The  western  field  open  to  sportsmen  is  a  grand  one.  Kan- 
sas, Colorado,  Nebraska,  Dakotah,  and  Wyoming,  are  all  over- 
flowing with  game.  The  climate  of  each  is  very  healthy,  and 
especially  favorable  for  those  affected  with  pulmonary  com- 
plaints. A  year  or  two  passed  in  their  pure  air,  with  the  ex- 
citement of  exploration  or  adventure  superadded,  would  put 
more  fresh  blood  into  feeble  bodies  than  all  the  watering-places 
in  existence.  Let  the  dyspeptic  seek  his  hunting  camp  at  even- 
ing, and,  my  word  for  it,  he  will  find  the  sweet  savor  of  his 


GENEEAL   EEMARKS.  461 

boyhood\s  appetite  resting  over  all  the  dishes.  After  the  meal, 
with  his  feet  to  the  fire,  he  can  have  diversion  in  the  way  of 
either  comedy  or  tragedy,  or  both,  by  listening  to  frontier  tales. 
When  bed-time  comes,  he  will  barely  have  time  to  roll  under 
the  blankets,  before  sweet  sleep  closes  his  eyes,  and  the 
twinkling  stars  look  down  upon  a  being  over  whom  the  angel 
of  health  is  again  hovering. 

No  extensive  preparation  for  a  western  sporting  trip  is 
needed,  as  an  outfit  can  be  obtained  at  any  of  the  larger  towns, 
in  either  Kansas,  Nebraska,  or  Colorado. 

Of  the  three  districts  just  named,  I  decidedly  prefer  the 
former  for  the  pursuit  of  such  game  as  I  have  endeavored  to 
describe  in  Buffalo  Land.  The  eastern  half  of  Kansas 
furnishes  chicken  and  quail  shooting.  The  birds  have  in- 
creased rapidly  during  fete  years,  and  at  any  point  fifty  miles 
west  of  the  eastern  line,  the  sportsman  will  find  plenty  of 
work  for  a  dog  and  gun.  The  ground  lies  well  for  good  shoot- 
ing, being  a  gently  rolling  prairie,  with  plenty  of  watering- 
places.  The  cover  is  excellent,  and  with  a  good  dog  there  is 
little  trouble,  between  August  and  November,  in  flushing  the 
chickens  singly,  and  getting  an  excellent  record  out  of  any 
covey. 

"Wild  fowl  shooting  is  poor,  there  being  no  lakes  or  feeding- 
grounds.  The  best  sport  of  that  kind  I  ever  had  was  in  Wis- 
consin and  Minnesota. 


WHAT  TO  DO,  IF  LOST  ON  THE  PLAINS. 

There  have  been  several  instances  in  which  gentlemen,  led 
away  from  their  party  in  the  excitement  of  the  chase,  when 
wishing  to  return,  suddenly  found  themselves   lost.      Judge 


462  BUFFALO   LAND. 

Corwin,  of  Urbana,  Ohio,  separated  in  this  manner  from  hia 
party,  wandered  for  two  days  on  the  plains  south  of  Hays 
City,  subsisting  on  a  little  corn  which  had  been  dropped  by 
some  passing  wagon.  He  was  found,  utterly  exhausted,  by 
California  Bill,  just  as  a  severe  snow-storm  had  set  in.  Per- 
sons thus  lost  should  remember  that  buffalo  trails  run  north 
and  south,  and  the  Pacific  Railroads  east  and  west.  It  will  be 
easy  to  call  to  mind  on  which  side  it  was  that  the  party  left 
the  road  in  starting  out,  and  it  then  becomes  a  simple  matter  to 
regain  the  rails,  and  follow  them  to  the  first  station. 


THE   NEW   FIELD   FOR   SPORTSMEN. 

South  of  Kansas  is  the  Indian  Territory,  which  probably 
has  within  it  a  larger  amount  of  game  than  any  spot  of  similar 
size  on  our  continent.  It  fairly  swarms  with  wild  beasts  and 
birds.  At  sunset  one  may  see  hundreds  of  turkeys  gathering 
to  their  roosts.  Buffalo,  elk,  antelope,  and  deer  of  several 
varieties,  may  be  found  and  hunted  to  the  heart's  content. 
Within  the  next  two  years  this  territory  will  be  the  paradise  of 
all  sportsmen.  It  can  now  be  reached  by  wagoning  fifty  miles 
or  so  beyond  the  terminus  of  the  A.  T.  &  Santa  Fe  Railroad. 
But  the  savage,  hostile  and  treacherous,  stands  at  the  entrance 
of  this  fair  land  and  forbids  further  advance.  While  there  is 
good  hunting,  there  is  also  a  disagreeable  probability  of  being 
hunted.  Many  of  the  tribes  which  formerly  roamed  all  over 
the  plains  are  now  gathered  in  the  Indian  Territory.  Jealous 
of  their  rights,  they  are  apt  to  repay  intrusion  upon  them  with 
death. 

The  white  kills  for  sport  alone  the  game  which  is  the 
entire  support  of  the  savage.     I  have  often  stood  among  the 


THE   NEW   FIELD   FOE   SPORTSMEN.  463 

rotting  carcasses  of  hundreds  of  bufikloes,  and  seen  the  beauti- 
ful skins  decaying,  and  tons  of  richest  meat  feeding  flies  and 
maggots;  and,  standing  there,  I  have  felt  but  little  surprise 
that  the  savage  should  consider  such  wanton  destruction  worthy 
of  death.  In  the  States,  game  is  protected  at  least  during  the 
breeding  season ;  but  no  period  of  the  year  is  sacred  from  the 
spirit  of  slaughter  which  holds  high  revel  in  Buffalo  Land. 

It  is  manifest,  however,  that  over  the  Indian  Territory 
history  will  soon  repeat  itself.  Railroads  are  pushing  steadily 
forward;  1872  is  already  seeing  the  beginning  of  the  end. 
The  savage  must  flee  still  further  westward,  and  the  valleys 
and  prairies  which  he  is  now  jealously  protecting  will  be 
invaded  first  by  the  sportsman,  and  then  by  the  farmer. 
Perhaps,  before  that  time.  Congress  may  have  taken  the 
matter  in  hand,  and  passed  laws  which  will  have  saved  the 
noblest  of  our  game  from  at  least  immediate  extinction. 


A.PI>ElSrDIX. 


CHAPTER  THIRD. 

ADDITIONAL  FACTS  CONCERNING  THE  NATURAL  FEAT- 
URES, RESOURCES,  ETC.,  OF  THE  GREAT  PLAINS 
AND  CONTIGUOUS  TERRITORY. 


26 


APPEI^DIX. 


CONTENTS  OF  CHAPTER  THIRD. 

PAGX 

"By  the  Mouth  op  Two  or  Three  Witnesses,"   ....  467 

Thk  Great  West, 469 

Fall  op  thk  Rivers, 4*70 

The  Principal  Rivers  and  Valleys  op  Bupfalo  Lako^               .        ,  470 

The  Valley  op  the  Platte,  ....••...  470 

The  Solomon  and  Smoky  Hill  Rivers, 471 

The  Arkansas  River  and  its  Tributaries, 472 

Stock  Raising  in  the  Great  West, 474 

Thb  Cattle  Hive  op  North  America, 477 

The  Climate  of  the  Plains, 479 

Climatic  Changes  on  the  Plains, 482 

The  Trees  and  Future  Forests  op  the  Plains, 484 

The  Supply  of  Fuel, ...  486 

Districts  Contiguous  to  the  Plains, 487 

The  VAiiLEYS  op  the  White  Earth  and  Niobrara,      ....  492 

New  Mexico — Its  Soil,  Climate,  Resources,  etc., 494 

The  Disappearing  Bison, 500 

The  Fish  with  Legs, 501 

The  Mountain  Supply  op  Lumber  for  the  Plains,      .                .        .  502 


CHAPTER    III. 

ADDITIONAL  FACTS  CONCERNING  THE  NATURAL 
FEATURES  OF  THE  GREAT  PLAINS;  THEIR 
PRINCIPAL  RIVERS  AND  VALLEYS;  THEIR  CLL 
MATE,  ETC.,  ETC, 

"  BY  THE  MOUTH  OF  TWO  OR  THREE   WITNESSES." 

XN  my  endeavors  to  place  Buffalo  Land  before  the  public  in 
-*-  its  true  light,  I  have  felt  a  desire,  as  earnest  as  it  is  natu- 
ral, that  my  readers  should  feel  that  the  subject  has  been 
justly  treated.  The  opinions  of  any  one  individual  are  li- 
able to  be  formed  too  hastily,  and  the  country  which  before 
one  traveler  stretches  away  bright  and  beautiful,  may  appear 
full  of  gloomy  features  to  another,  who  views  it  under  differ- 
ent circumstances.  A  late  dinner  and  a  sour  stomach,  before 
now,  have  had  more  to  do  with  an  unfavorable  opinion  con- 
cerning a  new  townP^or  country  than  any  actual  demeritSr 
JN"o  two  pairs  of  spectacles  have  precisely  the  same  power,  and 
defects  ofttimes  exist  in  the  glass,  rather  than  the  vision. 

These  considerations  have  been  brought  to  my  mind  with 
especial  force  when,  after  giving  an  account  of  our  own  ex- 
pedition, I  have  searched  through  the  records  of  others.  A 
portion  of  the  descriptions  which  I  have  been  able  to  find  are 
the  mature  productions  of  travelers  who,  perched  upon  the  top 


(467) 


468  BUFFALO     LAND. 

of  a  stage-coach,  or  snugly  nestled  inside,  have  undertaken  to 
write  a  history  of  the  country  while  rattling  through  it  at 
the  best  rate  of  speed  ever  attained  by  the  "  Overland  Mail." 
What  the  writers  of  this  class  lack  in  proper  acquaintance 
with  their  subject  they  usually  make  up  by  an  air  of  pro- 
foundness, and  positiveness  in  expression,  and  the  result  has 
more  than  once  been  the  foisting  upon  the  public  of  a  species 
of  exaggeration  and  absurdity  which  Baron  Munchausen  him- 
self could  scarcely  excel. 

As  a  rather  curious  illustration  of  the  numerous  absurdities 
which  have  obtained  currency  concerning  the  plains,  may  be 
mentioned  the  statement  published  more  than  once  during  the 
winter  of  1871-2,  to  the  effect  that  the  snow  of  that  region 
is  different  in  character  from  that  which  falls  elsewhere.  In 
support  of  this  assumption,  the  fact  is  adduced  that  snow- 
plows  sometimes  have  but  little  effect  upon  it,  on  account  of 
its  peculiar  hardness,  being  pushed  upon  it,  instead  of  through 
it.  A  little  more  careful  examination,  however,  would  have 
discovered  that  the  snow  itself  is  essentially  similar  to  that 
which  descends  elsewhere,  but  that  the  wind  which  drives  it 
into  the  "cuts''  and  ravines  also  carries  with  it  a  large 
amount  of  sand- and  surface  dirt;  and  this,  packing  with  the 
snow,  causes  the  firmness  in  question. 

The  valuable  surveys  being  made  froih  time  to  time  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Government,  in  charge  of  persons  c^  ex- 
perience and  sagacity,  are  doing  much  to  replace  this  superfi- 
cial knowledge  with  a  more  correct  comprehension  of  what 
the  plains  really  are;  and,  altogether,  we  may  well  hope  that 
the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  this  whole  wonderful  region 
will  be  as  well  understood  as  any  portion  of  the  national  do- 
main. 


THE    GREAT   WEST.  469 

As  the  object  of  this  work  is  to  place  before  its  readers  all 
the  essential  information  now  obtainable  concerning  the  great 
plains,  no  apology  will  be  necessary  for  adding  some  of  the 
observations  and  opinions  of  other  competent  writers  upon  the 
same  subject.  By  far  the  most  valuable  source  which  I  have 
found  to  draw  from  in  this  connection,  is  the  comprehensive 
report  published  by  Government,  and  bearing  the  title  of 
"  United  States  Geological  Survey  of  Wyoming  and  Contigu- 
ous Territory,  1870.     Hay  den." 

THE  GREAT  WEST. 

Prof.  Thomas  informs  us,  in  his  report  (embodied  in  Hay- 
den's  survey),  that,  lying  east  of  the  divide,  "  the  broad  belt  of 
country  situated  between  the  99th  and  104th  meridians,  and 
reaching  from  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  on  the  north  to  the 
Llano  Estacado  on  the  south,  contains  one  hundred  and  fift}' 
thousand  square  miles.  If  but  one-fifth  of  it  could  be  brought 
under  culture  and  made  productive,  this  alone,  when  fully  im- 
proved, would  add  $400,000,000  to  the  aggregate  value  of  the 
lands  of  the  nation.  And,  taking  the  lowest  estimate  of  the 
cash  value  of  the  crops  of  1869  per  acre,  it  would  give  an  ad- 
dition of  more  than  $200,000,000  per  annum  to  the  aggregate 
value  of  our  products." 

"  One  single  view  from  a  slightly  elevated  point  often  em- 
braces a  territory  equal  to  one  of  the  smaller  States,  taking  in 
at  one  sweep  millions  of  acres.  Eastern  Colorado  and  Eastern 
Wyoming  each  contains  as  much  land  sufficiently  level  for 
cultivation  as  the  entire  cultivated  area  of  Egypt." 


470  BUFFALO    LAND. 

FALL  OF  THE  EIVERS. 

The  fall  of  the  principal  rivers  traversing  the  region  above 
named  is  about  as  follows :  Arkansas,  to  the  99th  meridian, 
eleven  to  fifteen  feet  to  the  mile ;  the  Canadian,  the  same ;  the 
South  Platte,  from  Denver  to  North  Platte,  ten  feet  to  the 
mile ;  the  North  Platte,  to  Fort  Fetterman,  seven  feet  to  the 
mile.  The  descent  of  the  country  from  Denver  Junction  to 
Fort  Hays  is  nine  feet  to  the  mile.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
abundant  fall  is  obtainable  to  irrigate  all  the  lands  adjacent. 

THE  PRINCIPAL  EIVERS  AND  VALLEYS  OF  BUFFALO  LAND. 

The  Platte  (or  Nebraska),  the  Solomon,  the  Smoky  Hill, 
and  the  Arkansas,  are  the  four  largest  rivers  of  Buffalo  Land 
proper,  and  form  natural  avenues  to  the  eastward  from  the 
mountains  which  shut  it  in  upon  the  west. 

THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  PLATTE. 

Describing  this,  Hayden  says :  "  West  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Elk  Horn  River,  the  valley  of  the  Platte  expands  widely. 
The  hills  on  either  side  are  quite  low,  rounded,  and  clothed 
with  a  thick  carpet  of  grass.  But  we  shall  look  in  vain  for 
any  large  natural  groves  of  forest  trees,  there  being  only  a 
very  narrow  fringe  of  willows  or  cottonwoods  along  the  little 
streams.  The  Elk  Horn  rises  far  to  the  north-west  in  the 
prairie  near  the  Niobrara,  and  flows  for  a  distance  of  nearly 
two  hundred  miles  through  some  of  the  most  fertile  and 
beautiful   lands   in   Nebraska.     Each  of  its   more   important 


THE  SOLOMON  AND  SMOKY  HILL  RIVERS.        471 

branches,  as  Maple,  Pebble,  and  Logan  Creeks,  has  carved  out 
for  itself  broad,  finely-rounded  valleys,  so  that  every  acre  may 
be  brought  under  the  highest  state  of  cultivation. 

"The  great  need  here  will  be  timber  for  fuel  and  other  eco- 
nomical purposes,  and  also  rock  material  for  building.  Still 
the  resources  of  this  region  are  so  vast  that  the  enterprising 
settler  will  devise  plans  to  remedy  all  these  deficiencies.  He 
will  plant  trees,  and  thus  raise  his  own  forests  and  improve  his 
lands  in  accordance  with  his  wants  and  necessities. 

"  These  valleys  have  always  been  the  favorite  places  of  abode 
for  numerous  tribes  of  Indians  from  time  immemorial,  and  the 
sites  of  their  old  villages  are  still  to  be  seen  in  many  localities. 
The  buffalo,  deer,  elk,  antelope,  and  other  kinds  of  wild  game, 
swarmed  here  in  the  greatest  numbers,  and,  as  they  recede 
farther  to  the  westward  into  the  more  arid  and  barren  plains 
beyond  the  reach  of  civilization,  the  wild  nomadic  Indian  is 
obliged  to  follow.  One  may  travel  for  days  in  this  region  and 
not  find  a  stone  large  enough  to  toss  at  a  bird,  and  very  seldom 
a  bush  sufficient  in  size  to  furnish  a  cane." 


THE  SOLOMON  AND  SMOKY  HILL  RIVERvS. 

The  Solomoil  and  Smoky  Hill  Rivers,  while  possessing  some 
of  the  general  characteristics  of  the  Platte,  have  more  timber, 
and  the  entire  surrounding  country  is  uniformly  rolling.  The 
Smoky  Hill  is  a  visible  stream  only  after  reaching  the 
vicinity  of  Pond  Creek,  near  Fort  Wallace.  Above  that  point 
a  desolate  bed  of  sand  hides  the  water  flowing  beneath.  We 
have  spoken  fully  of  these  sections  elsewhere. 


472  ,  BUFFALO   LAND. 

THE  ARKANSAS  ElVER  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES. 

The  Arkansas,  passing  through  the  southern  portion  of  the 
plains,  has  wide,  rich  bottoms,  with  a  more  sandy  soil  than  is 
found  on  the  streams  north.  Its  small  tributaries  have  con- 
siderable timber.     All  these  valleys  are  being  settled  rapidly. 

Again  consulting  Prof.  Thomas'  report,  we  find  that  "  the 
Arkansas  River,  rising  a  little  north-west  of  South  Park,  runs 
south-east  to  Poncho  Pass,  where,  turning  a  little  more  toward 
the  east,  it  passes  through  a  canyon  for  about  forty  miles, 
emerging  upon  the  open  country  at  Canyon  City.  From  this 
point  to  the  Eastern  boundary  of  the  Territory  it  runs  almost 
directly  east. 

"  The  mountain  valley  has  an  elevation  of  between  seven 
and  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  while  that  of  the  plain 
country  lying  east  of  the  range  varies  from  six  thousand  near 
the  base  of  the  mountains  to  about  three  thousand  five  hundred 
feet  at  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Territory.  From  Denver 
to  Fort  Hays,  a  distance  of  three  hundred  and  forty-seven 
miles,  the  fall  is  three  thousand  two  hundred  and  seven  feet,  or 
a  little  over  nine  feet  to  the  mile. 

"  The  Arkansas  River,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Apishpa  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Pawnee,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  and  six 
miles,  has  the  remarkable  fall  of  two  thousand  four  hundred 
and  eight  feet,  or  more  than  eleven  feet  to  the  mile. 

^'  The  headwaters  of  the  Arkansas  are  in  an  oval  park, 
situated  directly  west  of  the  South  Park.  The  altitude  of  this 
ba^n  is  probably  between  eight  and  nine  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea ;  the  length  is  about  fifty  miles  from  north 
to  south,  and  twenty  or  thirty  miles  in  width  at  the  middle  or 
widest  point.     At  the  lower  or  southern  end  an  attempt  has 


THE  ARKANSAS  RIVER  AND  ITS  TRIBUTARIES.   473 

been  made  to  cultivate  the  soil,  which  bids  fair  to  prove  a  suc- 
(Cas.  Around  the  Twin  Lakes,  at  the  extreme  point,  oats, 
wheat,  barley,  potatoes,  and  turnips  have  been  raised,  yielding 
very  fair  crops.  Below  this  basin  the  river,  for  twenty  miles, 
passes  througli  a  narrow  canyon,  along  which,  with  considerable 
difficulty,  a  road  has  been  made.  Emerging  from  this,  it 
enters  the  '  Upper  Arkansas  Valley '  proper,  which  is  a  widen- 
ing of  the  bottom  lands  from  two  to  six  or  eight  miles.  This 
valley  is  some  forty  or  fifty  miles  in  length,  and  very  fertile. 

"  The  principal  tributaries  of  the  Arkansas  that  flow  in  from 
the  south,  east  of  the  mountains,  are  Hardscrabble  and  Green- 
horn Creeks  (the  St.  Charles  is  a  branch  of  the  latter),  Huer- 
bano  River,  which  has  a  large  tributary  named  Cuchara; 
Apishpa  River,  Timpas  Creek,  and  Purgatory  River.  On  the 
north  side,  Fountain  Gui  Bouille  River  and  Squirrel  Creek 
are  the  principal  streams  affording  water. 

*'  This  entire  district  affords  broad  and  extensive  grazing 
fields  for  cattle  and  sheep,  and  quite  a  number  of  herders  and 
stock-raisers  are  beginning  already  to  spread  out  their  flocks 
and  herds  over  these  broad  areas  of  rich  and  nutritious  grasses. 
One  of  the  finest  meadows,, of  moderate  extent,  that  I  saw  in 
the  Territory,  was  on  the  divide  near  the  head  of  Monument 
Creek,  and  near  by  was  a  large  pond  of  cool,  clear  water.  The 
temperature  of  this  section  is  somewhat  similar  to  that  of 
Northern  Missouri,  and  all  the  products  grown  there  can  be 
raised  here,  some  with  a  heavier  yield  and  of  a  finer  quality, 
as  wheat,  oats,  etc.,  while  others,  as  corn,  yield  less,  and  are  in- 
ferior in  quality." 

As  we  descend  the  Arkansas,  the  valley  becomes  broader, 
and  it  is  often  difficult  to  tell  where  the  bottom  ceases  and  the 
prairie  commences. 


474  BUFFALO    LAND. 

This  stream  attracted  such  a  large  portion  of  the  immigra- 
tion of  1871  that  it  is  already  settled  upon  for  some  distance 
aboye  Fort  Zarah.  The  soil  is  very  rich,  the  climate  pleasant 
and  healthy,  and  good  success  attends  both  stock  and  crop- 
raising. 


STOCK-KAISING  IN  THE  GREAT  WEST. 

Mr.  W.  N.  Byers,  who  has  lived  for  many  years  in 
Colorado,  lately  contributed  the  following  valuable  article  to 
the  Rocky  Mountain  News,  treating  more  particularly  of  the 
western  half  of  the  plains : 

"  After  the  mining  interest,  which  must  always  take  rank  as 
the  first  productive  industry  in  the  mountain  territories  of  the 
West,  stock-raising  will  doubtless  continue  next  in  importance. 
The  peculiarities  of  climate  and  soil  adapt  the  grass-covered 
country  west  of  the  ninety-eighth  degree  of  longitude  es- 
pecially to  the  growth  and  highest  perfection  of  horses,  cattle, 
and  sheep.  The  earliest  civilized  explorers  found  the  plains 
densely  populated  with  buffalo,  elk,  deer,  and  antelope,  their 
numbers  exceeding  computation.  Great  nations  of  Indians 
subsisted  almost  entirely  by  the  fruits  of  the  chase,  but,  with 
the  rude  weapons  used,  were  incapable  of  diminishing  their 
numbers.  "With  the  advent  of  the  white  man  and  the  intro- 
duction of  fire-arms,  and  to  supply  the  demands  of  commerce, 
these  wild  cattle  have  been  slaughtered  by  the  million,  until 
their  range,  once  six  hundred  miles  wide  from  east  to  west,  and 
extending  more  than  two  thousand  miles  north  and  south,  over 
which  they  moved  in  solid  columns,  darkening  the  plains,  has 
been  diminished  to  an  irregular  belt,  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles 


STOCK-KAISING   IN   THE   GREAT   WEST.  475 

wide,  in  which  only  scattering  herds  can  be  found,  and  they 
seldom  numbering  ten  thousand  animals. 

"  There  is  no  reason  why  domestic  cattle  may  not  take  their 
place.  The  climate,  soil,  and  vegetation  are  as  well  adapted 
to  the  tame  as  to  the  wild.  The  latter  lived  and  thrived  the 
year  round  all  the  way  up  to  latitude  fifty  degrees  north. 
Twenty  years'  experience  proves  that  the  former  do  equally 
well  upon  the  same  range,  and  with  the  same  lack  of  care. 
Time,  the  settlement  of  the  country,  the  growing  wants  of 
agriculture,  the  encroachment  of  tilled  fields,  will  gradually 
narrow  the  range,  as  did  semi-civilization  that  of  the  buffalo — 
first  from  the  Mississippi  Valley  westward,  where  that  process 
is  already  seen,  and  then  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  toward 
the  east;  but  as  yet  the  range  is  practically  unlimited,  and  for 
many  years  to  come  there  will  be  room  to  fatten  beeves  to  feed 
the  world. 

"  This  great  pasture  land  covers  Western  Texas,  Indian 
Territory,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  Dakota,  Eastern  New  Mex- 
ico, Colorado,  Wyoming,  and  Montana,  and  extends  far  into 
British  America.  The  southerly  and  south-easterly  portions 
produce  the  largest  growth  of  grass,  but  it  lacks  the  nutritious 
qualities  of  that  covering  the  higher  and  drier  lands  farther 
north  and  west.  Rank-growing  and  bottom-land  grasses  con- 
tain mostly  water :  they  remain  green  until  killed  by  frost, 
when  their  substance  flows  back  to  the  root,  or  is  destroyed  by 
the  action  of  the  elements.  The  dwarf  grass  of  the  higher 
plains  makes  but  a  small  growth,  but  makes  that  very  quickly 
in  the  early  spring,  and  then,  as  the  rains  diminish  and  the 
summer  heat  increases,  it  dies  and  cures  into  hay  where  it 
stands ;  the  seed  even,  in  which  it  is  very  prolific,  remains 


476  BUFFALO   LAND. 

upoD  the  stalk,  and,  though  very  minute,  is  exceedingly  nu- 
tritious. 

"  In  so  far  as  the  relative  advantages  of  different  portions 
of  this  wide  region  may  be  thought  by  many  to  preponderate 
over  one  another,  we  do  not  appreciate  them  at  all,  but  would 
as  soon  risk  a  herd  in  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  the 
Yellowstone,  or  the  Saskachewan,  as  along  the  Arkansas,  the 
Canadian,  or  Red  River.  If  any  diflPerence,  the  grass  is  better 
north  than  south.  One  year  the  winter  may  be  more  severe  in 
the  extreme  north ;  the  next  it  may  be  equally  so  in  the  south ; 
and  the  third  it  may  be  most  inclement  midway  between  the  two 
extremes  ;  or,  what  is  more  common,  the  sev^ere  storms  and 
heavy  snows  may  follow  irregular  streaks  across  the  country 
at  various  points.  There  are  local  causes  and  effects  to  be  con- 
sidered, such  as  permanently  affect  certain  localities  favorably 
or  the  contrary.  For  instance,  nearer  the  western  border  of 
the  plains  there  is  less  high  wind,  because  the  lofty  mountain 
ranges  form  a  shelter  or  wind  breaker.  Of  local  advantages, 
detached  ranges  of  mountains,  hills,  or  broken  land,  timber, 
brush,  and  deep  ravines  or  stream-beds  are  the  most  im- 
portant in  furnishing  shelter,  and,  as  a  general  thing,  better 
and  always  more  varied  pasture  ground. 

"  There  is  never  rain  upon  the  middle  and  northern  plains 
during  the  winter  months.  When  snow  comes  it  is  always 
dry,  and  never  freezes  to  stock.  The  reverse  is  the  case  in  the 
Northern  and  Middle  States,  where  winter  storms  often  begin 
with  rain,  which  is  followed  by  snow,  and  conclude  with 
piercing  wind  and  exceeding  cold.  Stock  men  can  readily 
appreciate  the  effect  of  such  weather  upon  stock  exposed  to  its 
influence. 

"The   soil  of  the    plains   is   very   much  the   same  every- 


STOCK-EAISING   IN   THE   GREAT   WEST.  477 

wliere.  To  a  casual  observer  it  looks  sterile  and  unpromis- 
ing, but,  when  turned  by  the  plow  or  spade,  is  found  very 
fertile.  Near  the  mountains  it  is  filled  with  coarse  rock  par- 
ticles, and  under  the  action  of  the  elements  these  become  dis- 
proportionately prominent  on  the  surface.  Receding  from  the 
mountains,  it  becomes  gradually  finer,  until  gravel  and  bits 
of  broken  stone  are  no  longer  seen.  Being  made  up  from  the 
wash  and  wearing  away  of  the  mountains,  alkaline  earths  enter 
largely  into  its  composition,  supplying  inexhaustible  quanti- 
ties of  those  properties  which  the  eastern  farmer  can  secure 
only  by  the  application  of  plaster,  lime,  and  like  manures. 
These  make  the  rich,  nutritious  grasses  upon  which  cattle 
thrive  so  remarkably,  and  to  the  constant  wonder  of  new- 
comers, who  can  not  reconcile  the  idea  of  such  comparatively 
bare  and  barren-looking  plains  with  the  fat  cattle  that  roam 
over  them. 

"  Besides  the  plains,  there  is  a  vast  extent  of  pasture-lands 
in  the  mountains.  "Wherever  there  is  soil  enough  to  support 
vegetation,  grass  is  found  in  abundance,  to  a  line  far  above 
the  limit  of  timber  growth,  and  almost  to  the  crest  of  the 
snowy  range.  These  high  pastures,  however,  are  suitable 
only  for  summer  and  autumn  range;  but  in  portions  of  the 
great  parks  and  large  valleys,  most  parts  of  which  lie  below 
eight  thousand  feet  altitude  above  the  sea,  cattle,  horses,  and 
sheep  live  and  thrive  the  year  round.  The  cost  of  raising  a 
steer  to  the  age  of  five  years,  when  he  is  at  a  prime  age  for 
market,  is  believed  to  be  about  seven  dollars  and  a  halfj  or 
one  dollar  and  a  half  per  year.  A  number  of  estimates 
given  us  by  stock  men,  running  through  several  years,  place 
the  average  at  about  that  figure.  That  contemplates  a  herd 
of  four  hundred  or  more.     Smaller  lots  of  cattle  will  gener- 


478  BUFFALO  LAND. 

ally  cost  relatively  more.     The  items  of  expense  are  herding, 
branding,  and  salt — nothing  for  feed." 


THE  CATTLE-HIVE  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 

In  this  connection  we  may  very  properly  quote  from  the 
same  writer  the  following  paragraph  in  regard  to  the  source 
from  whence  all  the  cattle  are  now  brought — that  great 
natural  breeding  ground,  the  prairie  land  of  Texas. 

"  Texas  is  truly  the  cattle-hive  of  North  America.  While 
New  York,  with  her  4,000,000  inhabitants,  and  her  settle- 
ments two  and  a  half  centuries  old,  has  748,000  oxen  and 
stock  cattle;  while  Pennsylvania,  with  more  than  3,000,000 
people,  has  721,000  cattle;  while  Ohio,  with  3,000,000  peo- 
ple, has  749,000  cattle;  while  Illinois,  with  2,800,000  people, 
has  867,000  cattle;  and  while  Iowa,  with  1,200,000  people, 
has  686,000  cattle;  Texas,  forty  years  of  age,  and  with  her 
500,000  people,  had  2,000,000  head  of  oxen  and  other  cattle, 
exclusive  of  cows,  in  1867,  as  shown  by  the  returns  of  the 
county  assessors. 

"  In  1870,  allowing  for  the  difference  between  the  actual 
number  of  cattle  owned  and  the  number  returned  for  taxa- 
tion, there  must  be  fully  3,000,000  head  of  beeves  and  stock 
cattle.  This  is  exclusive  of  cows,  which,  at  the  same  time, 
are  reported  at  600,000  head.  In  1870  they  must  number 
800,000— making  a  grand  total  of  3,800,000  head  of  cattle  in 
Texas.  One-fourth  of  these  are  beeves,  one-fourth  are  cows, 
and   the  other  two-fourths  are   yearlings  and  two-year  olds. 

There  would,  therefore,  be  950,000  beeves,  950,000  cows, 
and  1,900,000  young  cattle.     There  are  annually  raised  and 


THE   CLIMATE   OF   THE   PLAINS.  479 

branded  750,000  calves.  These  cattle  are  raised  on  the  great 
plains  of  Texas,  which  contain  152,000,000  acres.  Tn  the 
vast  regions  watered  by  the  Rio  Grande,  Nueces,  Guadalupe, 
San  Antonio,  Colorado,  Leon,  Brazos,  Trinity,  Sabine,  and 
Red  Rivers,  these  millions  of  cattle  graze  upon  almost  tropical 
growths  of  vegetation.  They  are  owned  by  the  ranchmen, 
who  own  from  1,000  to  75,000  head  each." 

As  specimen  ranches,  may  be  named  the  following:  Santa 
Catrutos  Ranch  belongs  to  Richard  King.  Amount  of  land, 
84,132  acres.  The  stock  consists  of  65,000  cattle,  10,000 
horses,  7,000  sheep,  8,000  goats.  Three  hundred  Mexicans 
are  employed,  and  1,000  saddle  horses,  on  the  place.  O'Con- 
nor's ranch,  near  Goliad,  is  an  estate  possessing  about  50,000 
cattle.  The  Robideaux  ranch,  on  the  Gulf,  belonging  to 
Mr.  Kennedy,  contains  142,840  acres  of  land,  and  has  30,000 
beef  cattle  in  addition  to  other  stock. 


THE  CLIMATE  OF  THE  PLAINS. 

Mr.  R.  S.  Elliott,  who  has  studied  this  matter  carefully, 
says :  "  The  plains  have  been  so  often  described  as  a  rainless 
region  that  great  misconception  in  regard  to  the  climate  has  pre- 
vailed. The  absolute  precipitation  is  much  greater  than  has 
been  in  past  years  supposed,  and  is  due  to  other  causes.  Mete- 
orologists who  have  described  the  rain-fall  of  the  plains  as 
derived  only  or  principally  from  the  remaining  moisture  of 
winds  from  the  Pacific,  after  the  passage  of  the  Nevada  and 
Rocky  Mountain  ranges,  have  been  greatly  in  error,  and  the 
better  conclusion  now  is,  with  all  authorities  who  have  given 
any  special  attention  to  the  subject,  that  the  moisture  which 


480  BUFFALO     LAND. 

fertilizes  the  Mississippi  Valley,  including  the  broad,  grassy 
plains,  is  derived  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

"  At  Fort  Riley  about  sixty-nine  per  cent,  of  the  annual  pre- 
cipitation is  in  spring  and  summer ;  at  Fort  Kearney,  eighty- 
one;  and  at  Fort  Laramie,  seventy-two  per  cent.  From 
observations  at  Forts  Harker,  Hays,  and  Wallace,  on  the  line 
of  this  road,  the  same  rule  seems  to  hold  good.  Records  have 
not  been  long  enough  continued  at  these  three  posts  to  give  a 
long  average,  but  the  mean  appears  to  be  between  seventeen 
and  nineteen  inches  at  Hays  and  Wallace,  and  possibly  rather 
more  at  Harker.  The  actual  average  for  1868  and  1869  at 
Hays  is  18.76  inches,  and  for  the  first  six  months  of  1870  the 
record  is  10.68  inches.  At  Wallace  the  record  for  1869  was 
over  seventeen  inches,  and  in  1870,  up  to  October  1,  about  the 
same  amount  had  fallen. 

"Without  records  there  can  be  only  conjecture;  and  I  can 
only  remark  that  there  does  not  seem  to  be  much  diminution 
in  the  annual  rain-fall  until  we  get  as  far  west  as  the  one 
hundred  and  third  meridian.  Thence  to  the  base  of  the 
mountains  (except  perhaps  in  the  timbered  portions  of  the 
great  divide  south  of  the  line  of  this  railway)  the  annual 
average  may  be  possibly  two  or  three  inches  less  than  in  the 
midst  of  the  plains — a  peculiarity  explained,  hypothetically,  by 
the  fact  that  the  region  '  lies  to  the  westward  of  the  general 
course  of  the  moisture  currents  of  air  flowing  northward  from 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  is  so  near  the  mountains  as  to  lose 
much  of  the  precipitation  that  localities  in  the  plains  east  and 
north-east  are  favored  with.  The  mountains  seem  to  exercise  an 
influence — electrical  and  magnetical — in  attracting  moisture, 
which  is  condensed  in  the  cooler  regions  of  their  summits, 
while  the  plains  at  their  feet  may  be  parched  and  heated  to  ex- 


THE   CLIMATE    OF   THE   PLAINS.  481 

cess.'  This  explanation  may  be  fanciful,  but  the  fact  remaina 
that  near  the  mountains  the  rains  seem  to  decrease  north  of  the 
great  divide;  fortunately,  however,  this  occurs  in  a  region 
where  irrigation  may  be  applied  extensively  and  where  there  is 
sufficient  moisture  to  nourish  bountiful  crops  of  grass. 

"  The  vegetation  of  the  plains  along  wagon  tracks  and  rail 
road  embankments  shows  a  capability  of  production  scarcely 
suggested  by  the  surface  where  undisturbed :  wherever  the 
earth  is  broken  up,  the  wild  sunflower  (Helianthus),  and  others 
of  the  taller-growing  plants,  though  previously  unknown  in 
the  vicinity,  at  once  spring  up. 

"  I  have  been  on  the  plains  all  the  time  since  early  in  May 
till  this  date  (22d  of  September).  There  has  been  much  dry 
weather,  but  I  have  not  seen  one  cloudless  day — no  day  on 
■which  the  sun  would  rise  clear  and  roll  along  a  canopy  of 
brass  to  the  west.  There  has  always  been  humidity  enough  to 
form  clouds  at  the  proper  height;  and  on  many  days  they 
would  be  seen  defining,  by  their  flat  bottoms,  the  exact  lino 
where  condensation  became  sufficient  to  render  the  vapor  visi- 
ble. I  conclude,  from  all  this,  that  abundant  moisture  has 
floated  over  the  plains  to  have  given  us  a  g»eat  deal  more  rain 
than  would  be  desirable  if  it  had  been  precipitated. 

"  Sometimes  a  storm  would  be  seen  to  gather  near  the 
horizon,  and  we  could  see  the  rain  pending  from  the  clouds 
like  a  fringe,  hanging  apparently  in  mid-air,  unable  to  reach 
the  expectant  earth.  The  rain  stage  of  condensation  had  been 
reached  above,  but  the  descending  sliower  was  re-vajiorized  ap- 
parently, and  thus  arrested. 

"  These  hot  winds  are  not,  so  far  as  I  have  observed,  apt  to 
be  constant  in  one  place  for  any  considerable  length  of  time ; 
they  strike  your  face  suddenly,  and  perhaps  in  a  minute  are 

27 


482  BUFFALO    LAXD. 

gone.  They  seem  to  run  along  in  streaks  or  ovenfulls  with  the 
winds  of  ordinary  (but  rather  high)  temperature.  They  do  not 
begin,  I  believe,  till  in  July,  as  a  general  rule,  and  are  over  by 
September  1,  or  perhaps  by  August  15.  Their  origin  I  take 
to  be,  of  course,  in  heated  regions  south  or  southwest  of  us; 
but  their  peculiar  occurrence,  so  capricious  and  often  so  brief, 
T  can  not  explain  to  myself  satisfactorily. 

"I  may  remark  that  this  season,  since  about  the  15th  of 
July,  in  these  distant  plains,  has  given  us  rain  enough  to  make 
beautifully  verdant  the  spots  in  the  prairie  burnt  off  during 
the  "  heated  ^^  term  in  July.  From  Kit  Carson  eastward,  the 
rains  have  been,  I  think,  exceptionally  abundant.  All 
through  the  summer  we  have  had  dew  occasionally,  and  it  has 
been  remarked  that  buffalo  meat  has  been  more  difficult  of 
preservation  than  heretofore — facts  indicative  of  humidity  in 
the  atmosphere,  even  where  but  little  rain-fall  was  witnessed. 
Turnips  sown  in  August  would  have  made  a  crop  in  this 
vicinity — four  hundred  and  twenty-two  miles  west  of  the  state 
line  of  Missouri/' 


CLIMATIC  CHANGES  OX  THE  PLAINS. 

"Facts  such  as  these,"  continues  the  same  writer,  "seem  to 
sustain  the  popular  persuasion  that  a  climatiG  change  is  taking 
place,  promoted  by  the  spread  of  settlements  westward ly, 
breaking  up  portions  of  the  prairie  soil,  covering  the  earth 
with  plants  that  sjiade  the  ground  more  than  the  short  grasses; 
thus  checking  or  modifying  the  reflection  of  heat  from  tlie 
earth's  surface,  etc.  The  fact  is  also  noted  that  even  where 
the  prairie  soil  is  not  disturbed,  the  short  buffalo  grass  disap- 


CLIMATIC   CHANGES   ON    THE   PLAINS.  483 

pears  as  the  "  frontier  '^  extends  westward,  and  its  place  is  taken 
by  grasses  and  other  herbage  of  taller  growth.  That  this 
change  of  the  clothing  of  the  plains,  if  sufficiently  extensive, 
might  have  a  modifying  influence  on  the  climate,  I  do  not 
doubt;  but  whether  the  change  has  been  already  spread  over  a 
large  enough  area,  and  whether  our  apparently  or  really  wetter 
seasons  may  not  be  part  of  a  cycle,  are  unsettled  questions. 

"The  civil  engineers  of  the  railways  believe  that  the  rains 
and  humidity  of  the  plains  have  increased  during  the  ex- 
tension of  railroads  and  telegraphs  across  them.  If  this  is  the 
case,  it  may  be  that  the  mysterious  electrical  influence  in  which 
they  seem  to  have  faith,  but  do  not  profess  to  explain,  has  exer- 
cised a  beneficial  influence.  What  effect,  if  any,  the  digging 
and  grading,  the  iron  rails,  the  tension  of  steam  in  locomotives, 
the  friction  of  metallic  surfaces,  the  poles  and  wires,  the  action 
of  batteries,  etc.,  could  possibly  or  probably  have  on  the 
electrical  conditions,  as  connected  with  the  phenomena  of  pre- 
cipitation, I  do  not,  of  course,  undertake  to  say.  It  may  be 
that  wet  seasons  have  merely  happened  to  coincide  with  rail- 
roads and  telegraphs.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  poles  of  the 
telegraph  are  quite  frequently  destroyed  by  lightning;  and  it 
is  probable  that  the  lightning  thus  strikes  in  many  places 
where  before  the  erection  of  the  telegraph  it  was  not  apt  to 
strike,  and  perhaps  would  not  reach  the  earth  at  all. 

"  It  is  certain  that  rains  have  increased ;  this  increase  has 
coincided  with  the  extension  of  settlements,  railroads,  and  tele- 
graphs. If  influenced  by  these,  the  change  of  climate  will  go 
on ;  if  by  extra  mundane  influences,  the  change  may  be  perma- 
nent, progressive,  or  retrograde.  I  think  there  are  good 
grounds  to  believe  it  will  be  progressive.  Within  the  last 
fifteen  years,  in  Western  Missouri  and  Iowa,  and  in  Eastern 


484  BUFFALO    LAND. 

Kansas  and  Nebraska,  a  very  large  aggregate  surface  has  been 
broken  up,  and  holds  more  of  the  rains  than  formerly.  Dur- 
ing the  same  period  modifying  influences  have  been  pit  in 
motion  in  Montana,  Utah,  and  Colorado.  Very  small  areas 
of  timbered  land  west  of  the  Missouri  have  been  cleared — not 
equal,  perhaps,  to  the  area  of  forest,  orchard,  and  vineyards 
planted.  Hence  it  may  be  said  that  all  the  acts  of  man  in  this 
vast  region  have  tended  to  produce  conditions  on  the  earth^s 
surface  ameliorative  of  the  climate.  With  extended  settlements 
on  the  'Arkansas,  Canadian,  and  Red  E-iver  of  the  south,  as 
well  as  on  the  Arkansas,  on  the  river  system  of  the  Kaw  Val- 
ley, and  on  the  Platte,  the  ameliorating  conditions  will  be  ex- 
tended in  like  degree;  and  it  partakes  more  of  sober  reason 
than  wild  fancy  to  suppose  that  a  permanent  and  beneficial 
change  of  climate  may  be  experienced.  The  appalling  deteri- 
oration of  large  portions  of  the  earth's  surface,  through  the  acts 
of  man  in  destroying  the  forests,  justifies  the  trust  that  the  cul- 
ture of  taller  herbage  and  trees  in  a  region  heretofore  covered 
mainly  by  short  grasses  may  have  a  converse  effect.  Indeed,  in 
Central  Kansas  nature  seems  to  almost  precede  settlements  by 
the  taller  grasses  and  herbage." 


THE  TREES  AND  FUTURE  FORESTS  OF  THE  PLAINS. 

Mr.  Elliott  continues  his  article  as  follows  :  ''  The  principal 
native  trees  on  the  plains  west  of  ninety-seventh  meridian  are  : 
Cottonwood,  walnut,  elm,  ash,  box-elder,  hackberry,  plum,  red 
cedar.  To  these  may  be  added  willow  and  grape-vines,  and 
also  the  locust  and  wild  cherry  mentioned  by  Abert  as  occur 
ring  on  the  Purgatory.     The  black  walnut  extends  to  the  one- 


TREES  AND  FUTURE  FORESTS  OF  THE  PLAINS.  485 

hundredth  meridian.  The  elm  and  ash  are  of  similar,  perhaps 
greater  range.  Hackberry  has  been  observed  west  of  one 
hundred  and  first  meridian.  Cottonwood,  elder,  red  cedar, 
plum,  and  willow  are  persistent  to  the  base  of  the  mountains. 
The  extensive  pine  forest  on  the  '  great  divide  ^  south  of  Den- 
ver, although  stretching  seventy  to  eighty  miles  east  from  the 
mountains,  is  not  taken  into  view  as  belonging  to  the  plains 
proper.  Its  existence,  however,  suggests  the  use  of  its  seeds  in 
artificial  plantations  in  that  region.  The  fossil  wood  imbedded 
in  the  cretaceous  strata  in  many  parts  of  the  plains  is  left  out 
of  consideration,  as  belonging  to  a  previous,  though  recent,  geo- 
logical age;  but  the  single  specimens  of  trees  found  growing  at 
wide  intervals  are  silent  witnesses  to  the  possibility  of  extended 
forest  growth. 

"  Were  it  possible  to  break  up  the  surface  to  a  depth  of  two 
feet,  from  the  ninty-seventh  meridian  to  the  mountains,  and 
from  the  thirty-fifth  to  the  forty-fifth  parallel,  we  should  have 
in  a  single  season  a  growth  of  taller  herbage  over  the  entire 
area,  less  reflection  of  the  sun's  heat,  more  humidity  in  the 
atmosphere,  more  constancy  in  springs,  pools,  and  streams, 
more  frequent  showers,  fewer  violent  storms,  and  less  caprice 
and  fury  in  the  winds.  A  single  year  would  witness  a  changed 
vegetation  and  a  new  climate.  In  three  years  (fires  kept  out) 
there  would  be  young  trees  in  numerous  places,  and  in  twenty 
years  there  would  be  fair  young  forests.  The  description  of 
the  '  broad,  grassy  plains,'  given  in  the  foregoing  pages,  attests 
their  capacity  to  sustain  animal  life.  For  cattle,  sheep,  horses, 
and  mules,  they  are  a  natural  pasture  in  summer,  with  (in 
many  parts)  hay  cured  standing  for  winter.  The  famed  Pam- 
pas, with  their  great  extremes  of  wet  and  drought,  can  not 
bear  comparison  with  our  western  plains.     For  grazing  pur- 


486  BUFFALO   LAND. 

poses,  the  habitable  character  of  our  vast  traditional  ^desert  ^  is 
generally  conceded,  and  hence  it  need  not  be  enlarged  on 
here  " 


THE  SUPPLY  OF  FUEL. 

Of  the  question  of  fuel  for  the  future  dwellers  upon  the  face 
of  Buffalo  Land,  Hayden,  in  his  report,  speaks  as  follows : 

"  The  question  often  arises  in  the  minds  of  visitors  to  this 
region,  how  the  law  of  compensation  supplies  the  want  of  fuel 
in  the  absence  of  trees  for  that  use.  Many  persons  have  taken 
the  position  that  the  Creator  never  made  such  a  vast  country, 
with  a  soil  of  such  wonderful  fertility,  and  rendered  it  so  suita- 
ble for  the  abode  of  man,  without  storing  in  the  earth  beds  of 
carbon  for  his  needs.  If  this  idea  could  be  shown  to  be  true 
in  any  case,  we  would  ask  why  are  the  immense  beds  of  coal 
stored  away  in  the  mountains  of  Pennyslvania  and  Virginia, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  surface  is  covered  with  dense  forests 
of  timber.  We  now  know  that  this  law  does  not  apply  to  the 
natural  world;  and,  if  it  did,  this  western  country  would  be  a 
remarkable  exception.  The  State  of  Nebraska  seems  to  be 
located  on  the  western  rim  of  the  great  coal  basin  of  the 
West,  and  only  thin  seams  of  poor  coal  will  probably  ever  be 
found;  but  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in 
Wyoming,  and  Colorado,  coal  in  immense  quantities  has  been 
hidden  away  for  ages,  and  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  has  now 
brought  it  near  the  door  of  every  man's  dwelling. 

"  These  Rocky  Mountain  coal-beds  will  one  day  supply  an 
abundance  of  fuel  for  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  square 


DISTRICTS   CONTIGUOUS  TO  THE   PLAINS.         487 

miles  along  the  Missouri  River  of  the  most  fertile  agricultural 
land  in  the  world." 

Of  this  coal  area,  Persifor  Frazler,  Jr.,  says :  "  Those  beds 
which  occur  on  the  east  flank  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  have 
been  followed  for  five  hundred  miles  and  more,  north  and 
south ;  and  if  it  be  true  that  these  are  ^  fragments  of  one  great 
basin,  interrupted  here  and  there  by  the  upheaval  of  mountain 
chains,  or  concealed  by  the  deposition  of  newer  formations,' 
then  their  extension  east  and  wTst,  or  from  the  eastern  range 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  or  Black  Hills  to  Weber  Canyon, 
where  an  excellent  coal  is  mined,  will  fall  but  little  short  of 
five  hundred  miles.  Throughout  this  extent  these  beds  of  coal 
are  found  between  the  upper  cretaceous  and  lower  tertiary  (or 
in  the  transition  beds  of  Hayden),  wherever  these  transition 
beds  occur,  whether  on  the  extreme  flanks  or  in  the  valleys 
and  parks  between  the  numerous  mountain  ranges.  Assuming 
that  the  eroding  agencies  together  have  cut  ofi^  one-half  of  the 
coal  from  this  area,  and  taking  one-half  of  the  remainder  as 
their  average  longitudinal  extent,  we  have  over  fifty  thousand 
square  miles  of  coal  lands,  accounting  the  latitudinal  extent  as 
only  five  hundred  miles;  whereas  we  have  no  reason  to  believe 
that  it  terminates  within  these  bounds,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
good  reason  for  supposing  that  it  extends  northward  far  into 
Canada,  and  southward  with  the  Cordilleras.  All  this  terri- 
tory has  been  omitted  in  the  estimate  of  the  extent  of  our  coal 
fields." 

DISTRICTS  CONTIGUOUS  TO  THE  PLAINS. 

The  reader  has  now  had  the  salient  features  of  the  great 
plains  placed  before  him  in  succession.     The  more  interesting 


488  BUFFALO    LAND. 

districts  immediately  adjoining  will  well  repay  the  reader  for  a 
brief  consideration. 


THE   NORTH   PLATTE   DISTRICT. 

A  late  writer,  who  has  studied  the  country  of  which  he 
speaks  very  closely,*  thus  describes  the  North  Platte  District : 

"  The  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  North  Platte,  where 
it  joins  the  South  Platte  on  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  to  its 
sources  in  the  great  Sierra  Mad  re,  whose  lofty  sides  form  the 
North  Park,  in  which  this  stream  takes  its  rise,  is  more  than 
eiffht  hundred  miles.  Its  extreme  southern  tributaries  head  in 
the  gorges  of  the  mountains  one  hundred  miles  south  of  the 
railroad,  and  receive  their  water  from  the  melting  snows  of 
these  snow-capped  ranges.  Its  extreme  western  tributaries  rise 
in  the  Wahsatch  and  Wind  River  ranges,  sharing  the  honor  of 
conveying  the  crystal  snow  waters  from  the  continental  divide 
with  the  Columbia  and  Colorado  of  the  Pacific.  Its  northern 
tributaries  start  oceanward  from  the  Big  Horn  Mountains, 
three  hundred  miles  north  of  the  starting-point  of  its  southern 
sources. 

"  It  drains  a  country  larger  than  all  New  England  and  New 
York  together.  East  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  there  is  no 
river  comparable  to  this  clear,  swift  mountain  stream  in  its 
length  or  in  the  extent  of  country  it  drains. 

"  The  main  valley  of  the  North  Platte,  two  hundred  miles 
from  its  mouth  to  where  it  debouches  through  the  Black  Hills 
out  on  to  the  great  plains,  is  an  average  of  ten  miles  wide. 
Nearly  all  this  area — two  thousand  square  miles — is  covered 

*Dr.  n.  Latham,  under  date  June  5th,  1870,  in  the  Omaha  Daily- 
Herald. 


THE  NORTH    PLATTE   DISTRICT.  <  489 

with  a  dense  growth  of  grass,  yielding  thousands  of  tons  of 
hay.  The  bluffs  bordering  these  intervals  are  rounded  and 
grass-grown,  gradually  smoothing  out  into  great  grassy  plains, 
extending  north  and  south  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see. 

"  Of  the  country,  Alexander  Majors  says,  in  a  letter  to  the 
writer  of  this  article :  '  The  favorite  wintering  ground  of  my 
herders  for  the  past  t\\;enty  years  has  been  from  the  Cach^  a  la 
Poudre  on  the  south  to  Fort  Fetterman  on  the  north,  embracing 
all  the  country  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  Black  Hills.'  It 
was  of  this  country  that  Mr.  Seth  E.  Ward  spoke,  when  he 
says :  '  I  am  satisfied  that  no  country  in  the  same  latitude,  or 
even  far  south  of  it,  is  comparable  to  it  as  a  grazing  and  stock- 
raising  country.  Cattle  and  stock  generally  are  healthy,  and 
require  no  feeding  the  year  round,  the  rich  *  bunch '  and 
'gramma'  grasses  of  the  plains  and  mountains  keeping  them, 
ordinarily,  fat  enough  for  beef  during  the  entire  winter.' 

'•  All  this  region  east  of  the  Black  Hills  is  at  an  elevation 
less  than  five  thousand  feet.  The  climate,  as  reported  from 
Fort  Laramie  for  a  period  of  twenty  years,  is  50°  Fahrenheit. 
The  mean  temperature  for  the  spring  months  is  47°,  for  the 
summer  months  72°,  for  autumn  60°,  for  winter  31°.  The 
annual  rain-fall  is  about  eighteen  inches — distributed  as  fol- 
lows: Spring,  8.69  inches;  summer,  5.70  inches;  autumn,  3.69 
inches.     The  snow  fall  is  eighteen  inches. 

"There  is  in  the  North  Platte  Basin,  east  of  the  Black  Hills 
divide,  at  least  eight  million  acres  of  pasturage,  with  the 
finest  and  most  lasting  streams,  and  good  shelter  in  the  bluffs 
and  canyons.  As  I  have  said  before,  we  can  only  judge  of  the 
extent  and  resources  of  such  a  single  region  by  comparison. 
Ohio  has  six  million  sheep,  yielding  eighteen  million  pounds  of 
wool,   bringing   herd  farmers  an  aggregate  of  four  and  one- 


V 


490  BUFFALO     LAND. 

half  million  dollars.  This  eight  million  acres  of  pasture 
would  at  least  feed  eight  million  sheep,  yielding  twenty-four 
million  pounds  of  wool,  and,  at  the  same  price  as  Ohio  wool, 
six  million  dollars.  Now,  this  money,  instead  of  going  to 
build  up  ranches,  stock-farms,  store-houses,  woolen  mills,  and 
all  the  components  of  a  great  and  thrifty  settlement,  is  sent  by 
our  wool-growers  and  woollen  manufacturers  to  Buenos  Ayres, 
to  Africa,  and  Australia,  to  enrich  other  people  and  other  lands, 
while  our  wool-growing  resources  remain  undeveloped. 

"  As  you  follow  the  North  Platte  up  through  the  Black  Hill 
Canyon,  you  come  out  upon  tlie  great  Laramie  plains,  which  lie 
between  the  Black  Hills  on  the  east  and  the  snowy  range  on 
the  west.  These  plains  are  ninety  miles  north  and  south,  and 
sixty  miles  east  and  west.  They  are  watered  by  the  Big  and 
Little  Laramie  Rivers,  Deer  Creek,  Rock  Creek,  Medicine 
Bow  River,  Cooper  Creek,  and  other  tributaries  of  the  North 
Platte.  It  is  on  the  extreme  northern  portion  of  these  plains, 
in  the  valley  of  Deer  Creek,  that  General  Reynolds  wintered 
during  the  winter  of  1860,  and  of  which  he  remarks,  on  pages 
seventy- four  and  seventy-five  of  his  '  Explorations  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone," as  follows : 

"'Throughout  the  whole  season's  march  the  subsistence  of 
our  animals  had  been  obtained  by  grazing  after  we  had  reached 
our  camp  in  the  afternoon,  and  for  an  hour  or  two  between  the 
dawn  of  day  and  our  time  of  starting.  The  consequence  was 
that  when  we  reached  our  winter  quarters  there  were  but  few 
animals  in  the  train  that  were  in  a  condition  to  have  continued 
the  march  without  a  generous  grain  diet.  Poorer  and  more 
broken-down  creatures  it  would  be  difficult  to  find.  In  the 
spring  they  were  in  as  fine  condition  for  commencing  another 
season's  work  as  could  be  desired.     A  greater  change  in  their 


THE   NORTH  PLATTE   DISTRICT.  491 

\ 

appearance  could  not  have  been  produced  even  if  they  had  been 

grain-fed  and  stable-housed  all  winter.  Only  one  was  lost,  the 
furious  storm  of  December  coming  on  before  it  had  gained  suf- 
ficient strength  to  endure  it.  The  fact  that  seventy  exhausted 
animals,  turned  out  to  winter  on  the  plains  the  first  of  No- 
vember, came  out  in  the  spring  in  the  best  condition,  and  with 
the  loss  of  but  one  of  their  number,  is  the  most  forcible  com- 
mentary I  can  make  on  the  quality  of  the  grass  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  winter.' 

"  These  plains  have  been  favorite  herding  grounds  of  the 
buffalo  away  back  in  the  pre-historic  age  of  this  country. 
Their  bones  lie  bleaching  in  ail  directions,  and  their  paths, 
deeply  worn,  cover  the  whole  plain  like  a  net-work.  Their 
'wallows,'  where  these  shaggy  lords  of  animal  creation  tore 
deep  pits  into  the  surface  of  the  ground,  are  still  to  be  seen. 
Elk,  antelope,  and  deer  still  feed  here,  and  the  mountain  sheep 
are  found  on  the  mountain  sides  and  in  the  more  secluded  val- 
leys of  the  Sierra  Madre  range — all  proving  conclusively  that 
this  has  afforded  winter  pasturage  from  time  immemorial. 
Since  1849  many  herds  of  work-oxen,  belonging  to  emigrants, 
freighters,  and  ranchmen,  have  grazed  here  each  winter. 

"  South  of  the  Laramie  plains  is  the  North  Park,  one  of 
three  great  parks  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  so  fully  described 
by  Richardson,  Bross,  and  Bowles.  This  North  Park  is 
formed. by  the  great  Snowy  Range.  It  is  a  valley  from  six  to 
eight  thousand  feet  high,  ninety  miles  long,  and  forty  miles 
wide,  surrounded  by  snowy  mountains  from  thirteen  to  fifteen 
thousand  feet  high.  These  mountain  tops  and  sides  are  com- 
pletely covered  with  dense  growths  of  forests;  the  lower  hill- 
sides and  this  great  valley  are  covered  with  grasses.  The 
forests   and   mountains   afford   ample   shelter   from   sweeping 


492  BUFFALO     LAND. 

winds.  Here,  as  well  as  on  the  Laramie  plains,  the  buffalo 
grazed  in  great  herds;  and  here  the  Ute  hunters,  from  some 
hidden  canyons,  dashed  down  among  them  on  their  trained  and 
fleet  ponies,  shooting  their  arrows  with  unerring  aim  on  all 
sides,  and  having  such  glorious  sport  as  kings  might  court  and 
envy.  The  Indians  are  now  gone  from  this  valley,  and  the 
buffalo  nearly  so.  On  the  two  million  acres  in  this  valley  not 
twenty  head  of  cattle  graze. 

"  This  great  park,  splendidly  watered  by  the  three  forks  of 
the  Platte,  and  by  a  hundred  small  streams  that  drain  these 
lofty  mountains  of  their  snows  and  rains — rich  in  all  kinds  of 
nutritious  grasses,  plentifully  supplied  with  timber;  on  the 
<:ertiary  coal  fields,  with  iron,  copper,  lead,  and  gold — has  not 
one  real  settler.  There  are  a  few  miners,  but  where  there 
should  be  flocks  and  herds  of  sheep  and  cattle  without  number, 
there  is  only  the  wild  game — the  elk,  antelope,  and  deer.^^ 

THE   VALLEYS   OF   THE    WHITE   EARTH   AND   NIOBRAEA. 

These  streams  are  branches  of  the  Missouri — the  one  mainly 
in  Dakota  Territory,  and  the  other  in  Nebraska.  The  fol- 
lowing graphic  paragraphs  concerning  them  are  from  Hayden 
again : 

"  I  have  spent  many  days  exploring  this  region  (the  White 
Earth  Valley)  when  the  thermometer  was  112°  in  the  shade, 
and  there  was  no  water  suitable  for  drinking  purposes  within 
fifteen  miles.  But  it  is  only  to  the  geologist  that  this  place 
can  have  any  permanent  attraction.  He  can  wind  his  way 
through  the  wonderful  canyons  among  some  of  the  grandest  i 
ruins  in  the  world.     Indeed,  it  resembles  a  gigantic  city  fallen 


VALLEYS  OF  WHITE  EARTH  AND  NIOBRARA.     493 

to  decay.  Domes,  towers,  minarets  and  spires  may  be  seen  on 
every  side,  which  assume  a  great  variety  of  shapes  when 
viewed  in  the  distance.  Not  unfrequently  the  rising  or  the 
Betting  sun  will  light  up  these  grand  old  ruins  with  a  wild, 
strange  beauty,  reminding  one  of  a  city  illuminated  in  the 
night,  when  seen  from  some  high  point.  The  harder  layers 
project  from  the  sides  of  the  valley  or  canyon  with  such  regu- 
larity that  they  appear  like  seats,  one  above  the  other,  of  some 
vast  amphitheater. 

"  It  is  at  the  foot  of  these  apparent  architectural  remains 
that  the  curious  fossil  treasures  are  found.  In  the  oldest  beds 
we  find  the  teeth  and  jaws  of  a  Hyopotamus,  a  river-horse 
much  like  the  hippopotamus,  which  must  have  sported  in  his 
pride  in  the  marshes  that  bordered  this  lake.  So,  too,  the 
Titanotherum,  a  gigantic  pachyderm,  was  associated  with  a 
species  of  hornless  rhinoceros.  These  huge  rhinoceroid  ani- 
mals appear  at  first  to  have  monopolized  this  entire  region,  and 
the  plastic,  sticky  clay  of  the  lowest  bed  of  this  basin,  in  w^iich 
the  remains  were  found,  seems  to  have  formed  a  suitable  bot- 
tom of  the  lake  in  which  these  thick-skinned  monsters  could 
wallow  at  pleasure." 

Of  the  fauna  of  the  Niobrara  and  Loup  Fork  Valleys,  he 
speaks  as  follows  :  "  In  the  later  fauna  were  the  remains  of  a 
number  of  species  of  extinct  camels,  one  of  which  was  of  the 
size  of  the  Arabian  camel,  a  second  about  two-thirds  as  large. 
Not  less  interesting  are  the  remains  of  a  great  variety  of  forms 
of  the  horse  family,  one  of  which  was  about  as  large  as  the 
ordinary  domestic  animal,  and  the  smallest  not  more  than  two 
or  two  and  a  half  feet  in  height,  with  every  intermediate  grade 


494  BUFFALO   LAND. 

NEW   MEXICO — ITS   SOIL,   CLIMATE,    EESOURCES,    ETO. 

Bordering  on  what  might  be  called  the  south-western  corner 
of  the  plains,  or  perhaps  more  properly  forming,  :)ver  itg 
eastern  half,  part  of  them,  lies  New  Mexico.  I  find  the  fol- 
lowing valuable  description  of  the  soil,  climate,  and  pro- 
ductions of  this  section  in  the  report  of  Prof  Cyrus  Thomas  : 

"  The  best  estimate  I  can  make  of  the  arable  area  of  the 
Territory  is  about  as  follows :  In  the  Rio  Grande  district,  one 
twentieth,  or  about  two  thousand  eight  hundred  square  miles ; 
in  the  strip  along  the  western  border,  one-fiftieth,  or  about  six 
hundred  square  miles;  in  the  north-eastern  triangle,  watered  by 
the  Canadian  River,  one-fifteenth,  or  about  one  thousand  four 
hundred  square  miles.  This  calculation  excludes  the  ^  Staked 
Plains,^  and  amounts  in  the  aggregate  to  four  thousand  eight 
hundred  square  miles,  or  nearly  two  million  nine  hundred 
thousand  acres.  This,  I  am  aware,  is  larger  than  any  previous 
estimate  that  I  have  seen;  but  when  the  country  is  penetrated 
by  one  or  two  railroads,  and  a  more  enterprising  agricultural 
population  is  introduced,  the  fact  will  soon  be  developed  that 
many  portions  now  considered  beyond  the  reach  of  irrigation 
will  be  reclaimed.  I  do  not  found  this  estimate  wholly  upon 
the  observations  made  in  the  small  portions  I  have  visited,  but, 
in  addition  thereto,  I  have  carefully  examined  the  various  re- 
ports made  upon  special  sections,  and  have  obtained  all  the  in- 
formation I  could  from  intelligent  persons  who  have  resided  in 
the  Territory  for  a  number  of  years. 

"  As  the  Territory  includes  in  its  bounds  some  portions  of 
the  Rocky  Mountain  range  on  which  snow  remains  for  a  great 
part  of  the  year,  and  also  a  semi-tropical  region  along  its 
southern  boundary,  there  is,  of  necessity,  a  wide  difference  in 


NEW   MEXICO — ITS   SOIL,  CLIMATE,  ETC.         495 

the  extremes  of  temperature.  But,  with  the  exception  of  the 
cold  seasons  of  the  higher  lands  at  the  north,  it  is  temperate 
and  regular.  The  summer  days  in  the  lower  valleys  are  quite 
warm,  but,  as  the  dry  atmosphere  rapidly  absorbs  the  perspi- 
ration of  the  body,  it  prevents  the  debilitating  effect  experi- 
enced where  the  air  is  heavier  and  more  saturated  with 
moisture.  The  nights  are  cool  and  refreshing.  The  winters, 
except  in  the  mountainous  portions  at  the  north,  are  moderate, 
but  the  difference  between  the  northern  and  southern  sections 
during  this  season  is  greater  than  during  the  summer.  The 
amount  of  snow  that  falls  is  light,  and  seldom  remains  on  the 
ground  longer  than  a  few  hours.  The  rains  principally  fall 
during  the  months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  but  the 
annual  amount  is  small,  seldom  exceeding  a  few  inches.  When 
there  are  heavy  snows  in  the  mountains  during  the  winter, 
there  will  be  good  crops  the  following  summer,  the  supply  of 
water  being  more  abundant,  and  the  quantity  of  sediment 
carried  down  greater,  than  when  the  snows  are  light.  Good 
crops  appear  to  come  in  cycles — three  or  four  following  in  suc- 
cession ;  then  one  or  two  inferior  ones. 

"  During  the  autumn  months  the  wind  is  disagreeable  in 
some  places,  especially  near  the  openings  between  high  ridges, 
and  at  the  termini  of  or  passes  through  mountain  ranges. 
There  is,  perhaps,  no  healthier  section  of  country  to  be  found 
in  the  United  States  than  that  embraced  in  the  boundaries  of 
Colorado  and  New  Mexico;  in  fact,  I  think  I  am  justified  in 
saying  that  this  area  includes  the  healthiest  portion  of  the 
Union.  Perhaps  it  is  not  improper  for  me  to  say  that  I  have 
no  personal  ends  to  serve  in  making  this  statement,  not  having 
one  dollar  invested  in  either  of  these  Territories  in  any  way 
whatever;  I  make  it  simply  because  I  believe  it  to  be  true. 


496  BUFFALO   LAND. 

Nor  would  I  wish  to  be  understood  as  contrasting  with  other 
sections  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region,  only  so  far  as  these 
Territories  have  the  advantage  in  temperature.  It  is  possible 
Arizona  should  be  included,  but,  as  I  have  not  visited  it,  I  can 
not  speak  of  it. 

"There  is  no  better  place  of  resort  for  those  suffering  with 
pulmonary  complaints  than  here.  It  is  time  fur  the  health- 
seekers  of  our  country  to  learn  and  appreciate  the  fact  that 
within  our  own  bounds  are  to  be  found  all  the  elements  of 
health  that  can  possibly  be  obtained  by  a  tour  to  the  eastern 
continent,  or  any  other  part  of  the  world;  and  that,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  invigorating  air,  is  scenery  as  wild,  grand,  and 
varied  as  any  found  amid  the  Alpine  heights  of  Switzerland. 
And  here,  too,  from  Middle  Park  to  Los  Vegas,  is  a  suc- 
cession of  mineral  and  hot  springs  of  almost  every  character. 

"  The  productions  of  New  Mexico,  as  might  be  inferred  from 
the  variety  of  its  climate,  are  varied,  but  the  staples  will  evi- 
dently be  cattle,  sheep,  wool,  and  wine,  for  which  it  seems  to 
be  peculiarly  adapted.  The  table-lands  and  mountain  valleys 
are  covered  throughout  with  the  nutritious  gramma  and  other 
grasses,  which,  on  account  of  the  dryness  of  the  soil,  cure  upon 
the  ground,  and  afford  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  food  for 
flocks  and  herds  both  summer  and  winter.  The  ease  and  com- 
paratively small  cost  with  which  they  can  be  kept,  the  rapidity 
with  which  they  increase,  and  exemption  from  epidemic  dis- 
eases, added  to  the  fact  that  winter-feeding  is  not  required, 
must  make  the  raising  of  stock  and  wool-growing  a  prominent 
business  oi  the  country — the  only  serious  drawback  at  present 
being  the  fear  of  the  hostile  Indian  tribes.  But,  as  these  re- 
marks apply  equally  well  to  all  these  districts,  I  will  speak 


NEW  MEXICO — ITS   SOIL,    CLIMATE,    ETC.        497 

further  in  regard  to  this  matter  when  I  take  up  the  subject  of 
grazing  in  this  division. 

"  The  cattle  and  sheep  of  this  Territory  are  small,  because 
no  care  seems  to  be  taken  to  improve  the  breed.  San  Miguel 
County  appears  to  be  the  great  pasturing  ground  for  sheep, 
large  numbers  being  driven  here  from  other  counties  to  graze. 
Don  Romaldo  Baca  estimates  that  between  five  hundred 
thousand  and  eight  hundred  thousand  are  annually  pastured 
here — about  two-thirds  of  which  are  driven  in  from  other 
sections.  His  own  flocks  number  between  thirty  thousand 
and  forty  thousand  head ;  those  of  his  nephew  twenty-five 
thousand  to  thirty  thousand  ;  Mr.  Mariano  Trissarry,  of  Ber- 
nalillo County,  owns  about  fifty-five  thousand;  and  Mr.  Gal- 
legos,  of  Santa  Fe,  nearly  seventy  thousand  head. 

"  Don  Romaldo  Baca  stated  to  me  that  his  flocks  yielded 
him  an  annual  average  of  about  one  and  a  half  pounds  of 
washed  wool  to  the  sheep ;  th^t  the  average  price  of  sheep  was 
not  more  than  two  dollars  per  head ;  that  the  wool  paid  all  ex- 
penses, and  left  the  increase,  which  is  from  fifty  to  seventy -five 
per  cent,  per  annum,  as  his  profit.  From  these  figures  some 
estimate  may  be  formed  of  what  improved  sheep  would  yield. 

"  Wheat  and  oats  grow  throughout  the  Territory,  but  the 
former  does  not  yield  as  heavily  in  the  southern  as  in  the 
northern  part.  If  any  method  of  watering  the  higher  plateau 
is  ever  discovered,  I  think  that  it  will  produce  heavier  crops  of 
wheat  than  the  Valley  of  the  Rio  Grande. 

*'Corn  is  raised  from  the  Vermijo,  on  the  east  of  the 
mountains,  around  to  the  Culebra,  on  the  inside ;  in  fact,  it  is 
the  principal  crop  of  San  Miguel  County,  but  the  quality  and 
yield  is  inferior  to  that  which  can  be  produced  in  the  Rio 
Grande    Valley    and   along  the  Rio   Bonito.     The   south  err 

28 


498  BUFFALO     LAND. 

portion  of  the  Rio  Pecos  Valley  and  the  Canadian  bottoms  are 
probably  the  best  portions  of  the  Territory  for  this  cereal. 

"Apples  will  grow  from  the  Taos  Valley  south,  but  peaches 
can  not  be  raised  to  any  advantage  north  of  Bernalillo,  in  the 
centra]  section ;  but  it  is  likely  they  would  do  well  along  some 
of  the  tributaries  and  main  valley  of  the  Canadian  River. 
They  also  appear  to  grow  well  and  produce  fruit  without  irri- 
gation in  the  Zuni  country;  and  the  valley  of 'the  Mimbres  is 
also  adapted  to  their  culture.  Apricots  and  plums  grow  wher- 
ever apples  or  peaches  can  be  raised.  I  neglected  to  obtain  any 
information  in  regard  to  pears,  but,  judging  from  the  similarity 
of  soil  and  climate  here  to  that  of  Utah  and  California,  where 
this  fruit  grows  to  perfection,  I  suppose  that  in  the  central  and 
southern  portions  it  would  do  well. 

•'  The  grape  will  probably  be  the  chief,  or  at  least  the  most 
profitable,  product  of  the  soil.  The  soil  and  climate  appear  to 
be  peculiarly  adapted  for  its  growth,  and  the  probability  is  that, 
as  a  grape-growing  and  wine-producing  section,  it  will  be  second 
only  to  California.  From  Col.  McClure  I  learned  that  the 
amount  of  wine  made  in  1867  was  about  forty  thousand  gallons, 
and  that  the  crop  of  1869  would  probably  reach  one  hundred 
thousand  gallons.  I  have  not  been  informed  since  whether  his 
estimate  was  verified  or  not.  A  good  many  vineyards  were 
planted  in  1869 — at  least  double  the  number  of  1868.  Several 
Americans,  anticipating  the  building  of  a  railroad  through  that 
section,  have  engaged  in  this  branch  of  agriculture.  The  wine 
that  is  made  here  is  said  to  be  of  an  excellent  quality. 

"  Beets  here,  as  in  Colorado,  grow  to  an  enormous  size,  and 
it  is  quite  likely  that  the  sugar  beet  would  not  only  yield  heavy 
crops,  but  also  contain  a  large  per  cent,  of  saccharine  matter. 
I  am  rather  inclined  to  believe  that  soil  which  is  impregnated 


NEW  MEXICO — ITS   SOIL,    CLIMATE,  ETC.        499 

with  alkaline  matter  will  favor  the  production  of  the  saccharine 
principle.  I  base  this  opinion  wholly  on  observations  made  in 
Utah  in  regard  to  its  effect  on  fruit;  therefore  experiments  may 
prove  that  I  am  wholly  mistaken.  It  is  possible  the  experi- 
ment has  been  tried ;  if  so,  I  am  not  aware  of  it. 

"The  Irish  potatoes  are  inferior  to  those  raised  further 
north.  Cabbages  grow  large  and  fine.  Onions  from  the  Raton 
Mountains  south  have  the  finest  flavor  of  any  I  ever  tasted, 
and  therefore  I  am  not  surprised  that  Lieut.  Emory  found  the 
dishes  at  Bernalillo  'all  dressed  with  the  everlasting  onion.' 
But,  as  to  the  '  Chili,'  or  pepper,  which  is  so  extensively  raised 
and  used  in  New  Mexico,  I  beg  to  be  excused,  unless  I  can 
have  ray  throat  lined  with  something  less  sensitive  than 
nature's  coating.  Sweet  potatoes  have  been  successfully  tried 
in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Sumner  and  along  the  head-waters  of  the 
Rio  Bonito.  Melons,  pumpkins,  frijoles,  etc.,  are  raised  in  pro- 
fusion in  the  lower  valleys;  and  I  understand  cotton  was 
formerly  grown  in  limited  quantities. 

"  As  a  general  thing,  the  mountains  afford  an  abundance  of 
pine  for  the  supply  of  lumber  and  fuel  to  those  sufficiently  near 
to  them.  Some  of  the  valleys  have  a  limited  amount  of  cotton- 
wood  growing  along  them.  In  addition  to  pine,  spruce  and 
Cottonwood,  the  stunted  cedar  and  mesquit,  which  is  found  over 
a  large  area,  may  be  used  for  fuel.  The  best  timbered  portion 
of  the  Rio  Grande  Valley  is  between  Socorro  and  Dofia  Afia. 
The  east  side  of  the  Guadalupe  range  has  an  abundant  supply 
of  pine  of  large  size.  Around  the  head-waters  of  the  Pecos  is 
some  excellent  timber.  Walnut  and  oak  are  found  in  a  few 
spots  south,  but  in  limited  quantities,  and  of  too  small  a  size  to 
be  of  much  value." 


500  BUFFALO     LAND. 


THE   DISAPPEARING  BISON. 

In  connection  with  this  general  review  of  Buffalo  Land,  it 
is  interesting  to  note  that  while  civilization,  advancing  from 
the  east,  pushes  our  bison  west,  another  tide  of  human  beings, 
creeping  out  from  the  mountains  eastward,  presses  the  buffalo 
back  before  it.  The  brute  multitude  is  thus  between  two 
advancing  lines,  which  will  soon  crush  it.  In  confirmation  of 
this,  I  find  the  following  in  Hayden's  notes  of  the  country 
along  the  base  of  the  Laramie  Mountains : 

"  These  broad,  grassy  plains  are  not  yet  entirely  destitute 
of  their  former  inhabitants ;  flocks  of  antelope  still  feed  on  the 
rich,  nutritious  grasses;  but  the  buffalo,  which  once  roamed 
here  by  thousands,  have  disappeared  forever.  No  trace  of 
them  is  now  left  but  the  old  trails,  which  pass  across  the 
country  in  every  direction,  and  the  bleached  skulls  which  are 
scattered  here  and  there  over  the  ground.  These  traces  are 
fast  passing  away.  The  skulls  are  decaying  rapidly,  and  this 
once  peculiar  feature  of  the  landscape  in  the  West  will  be  lost. 
Two  years  ago  I  collected  a  large  quantity  of  these  bleached 
skulls  and  distributed  them  to  several  of  our  museums,  in 
order  to  insure  their  preservation. 

"  There  is  also  a  singular  ethnological  fact  connected  with 
these  skulls.  We  shall  observe  that  the  greater  part  of  them 
have  the  forehead  broketi  in  for  a  space  of  three  or  four 
inches  in  diameter.  Whenever  an  Indian  kills  a  buffalo,  he 
fractures  the  skull  with  his  tomahawk  and  extracts  the  brains, 
which  he  devours  in  a  raw  state. 

"  Indians  or  old  trappers  traveling  through  the  enemy's 
country  always  fear  to  build  a  fire,  lest  the  smoke  attract  the 


THE   FISH   WITH   LEGS.  501 

notice  of  the  foe.  The  consequence  is  that  they  have  con- 
tracted the  habit  of  eating  certain  parts  of  an  animal  in  an 
uncooked  condition.  I  have  estimated  that  six  men  may  make 
a  full  meal  from  a  buffalo  without  lighting  a  fire.  The  ribs  on 
one  side  are  taken  out  with  a  knife,  and  the  concavity  serves 
as  a  dish.  The  brains  are  taken  out  of  the  skull,  and  the 
marrow  from  the  leg-bones,  and  the  two  are  chopped  together 
in  the  rib-dish.  The  liver  and  lungs  are  eaten  with  a  keen 
relish ;  also  certain  portions  of  the  intestines ;  and  the  blood 
supplies  an  excellent  and  nutritious  drink. 

"Both  Indian  and  buffalo  have  probably  disappeared  for- 
ever from  these  plains.  Elk,  black-tailed  deer,  red  deer, 
mountaii;  sheep,  wolves,  and  the  smaller  animals,  are  still  quite 
abundant,  especially  in  the  valleys  of  the  small  streams,  where 
they  flow  down  through  the  mountains.  Elk  Mountain  and 
Sheephead  Mountain  have  always  been  noted  localities  for 
these  animals." 

THE  FISH   WITH   LEGS. 

But  while  the  buffalo  has  become  extinct  in  that  locality,  an 
inhabitant  of  the  water  may  be  preparing  (query:  in  support 
of  the  theory  of  development?)  to  take  its  place.  I  quote 
again  from  Hayden  : 

"  There  are  other  attractions  here,  of  which  the  traveler  will 
be  informed  long  before  he  reaches  the  locality.  The  '  fish 
with  legs '  are  the  only  inhabitants  of  the  lake,  and  numbers  of 
persons  make  it  a  business  to  catch  and  sell  them  to  travelers. 
During  the  summer  season  they  congregate  in  great  numbers 
in  the  shallow  water  among  the  weeds  and  grass  near  the 
shore,  and  can  be  easily  caught;    but  in  cold  weather   they 


502  BUFFALO    LAND. 

retire  to  the  deeper  portions  of  the  lake,  and  are  not  seen 
again  until  spring.  These  little  animals  are  possessed  of  gills, 
and,  were  it  not  for  the  legs,  would  most  nearly  resemble  a 
miniature  cat-fish.  But  when  warm  weather  comes,  a  form 
closely  resembling  them,  but  entirely  destitute  of  gills,  may  be 
seen  in  the  water  swimming,  or  creeping  clumsily  about  on 
land.  Sometimes  they  travel  long  distances,  and  are  found  in 
towns,  near  springs  or  wet  places,  usually  one  at  a  time,  while 
those  with  gills  are  never  seen  except  in  the  alkaline  lakes 
which  are  so  common  all  over  the  West." 


THE   MOUNTAIN  SUPPLY  OF  LUMBER  FOR  THE  PLAINS. 

In  connection  with  this  (the  western)  border  of  the  plains, 
it  is  interesting  to  note  what  the  same  writer  says  of  a  future 
supply  of  lumber : 

"  Not  only  in  the  more  lofty  ranges,  but  also  in  the  lower 
mountains,  are  large  forests  of  pine  timber,  which  will  eventu- 
ally become  of  great  value  to  this  country.  Vast  quantities 
of  this  pine,  in  the  form  of  railroad  ties,  are  floated  down  the 
various  streams  to  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  One  gentle- 
man alone  contracted  for  five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  ties, 
all  of  which  he  floated  down  the  stream  from  the  mountains 
along  the  southern  side  of  the  Laramie  Plains.  The  Big  and 
Little  Laramie,  Rock  Creek,  and  Medicine  Bow  River,  with 
their  branches,  were  here  literally  filled  with  ties  at  one  time ; 
and  I  was  informed  that,  in  the  season  of  high  water,  they  can 
be  taken  to  the  railroad  from  the  mountains,  after  being  cut 
and  placed  in  the  water,  at  the  rate  of  from  one  to  three  cents 
each.     These  are  important  facts,  inasmuch  as  they  show  the 


LUMBER  FOR  THE   PLAINS.  603 

ease  with  which  these  vast  bodies  of  timber  may  be  brought  to 
the  plains  below  and  converted  into  lumber,  should  future 
settlement  of  the  country  demand  it." 

^'  On  the  summits  of  these  lofty  mountains  are  some  most 
beautiful,  open  spots,  without  a  tree,  and  covered  with  grass 
and  flowers.  After  passing  through  dense  pine  forests  for 
nearly  ten  miles,  we  suddenly  emerged  into  one  of  these  park- 
like areas.  Just  in  the  edge  of  the  forest  which  skirted  it 
were  banks  of  snow  six  feet  deep,  compact  like  a  glacier,  and 
within  a  few  feet  were  multitudes  of  flowers — and  even  the 
common  strawberry  seemed  to  flourish.  These  mountains  are 
full  of  little  streams  of  the  purest  water,  and  for  six  months 
of  the  year  good  pasturage  for  stock  could  be  found." 


THE   END. 


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